AI upgrade from MIT, Northeastern gets NASA robot ready for space

Man-machine collaboration could reach new heights far from home, as humanoid robots show potential for deep-space travel. NASA has sent prototype robots to two university groups for further research and development. Initially designed for disaster relief during a previous robotics challenge, the R5 robots could someday be among the first to demonstrate humanoid robot models' usefulness for distant space missions, the space agency suggests. "Advances in robotics, including human-robotic collaboration, are critical to developing the capabilities required for our journey to Mars," Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at NASA Headquarters, said in a press release. "We are excited to engage these university research groups to help NASA with this next big step in robotics technology development."