Hello Cimon! Floating AI head is the latest crew member destined for the International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) is getting a new crew member: a disembodied head powered by artificial intelligence. Crew Interactive Mobile Companion (Cimon) is shaped like a medicine ball and weighs around 5kg. Designed by Airbus, it has been created to help astronauts with experiments and routine work, as well as chat to crew members about checklists and mission procedures. According to Airbus, Cimon will be a "genuine colleague" on the ISS and all of this is made possible thanks to an AI brain based on IBM's Watson technology. Cimon will be able to learn from the astronauts working on board the ISS, and adapt to the different tasks it can help with. "Cimon is a personal assistant capable of voice and facial recognition," said project leader Till Eisenberg.