Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays L3-37 in "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (Lucasfilm) Is the newest droid in the "Star Wars" universe the future of modern robotics? In the recently released film "Solo: A Star Wars Story," the droid L3-37, also known as L3 or Elthree, showcased a unique set of traits among "Star Wars" robots. The intelligent pilot droid is always changing, improving and repairing itself with found scraps from other bots. L3 is also one of the first bots in the "Star Wars" franchise to bring feminine programming to a major role. L3 is a hodgepodge of various droids and astromechs, which are robots typically used for repairs aboard starships in "Star Wars."

Is the newest droid in the "Star Wars" universe the future of modern robotics? In the recently released film "Solo: A Star Wars Story," the droid L3-37, also known as L3 or Elthree, showcased a unique set of traits among "Star Wars" robots. The intelligent pilot droid is always changing, improving and repairing itself with found scraps from other bots. L3 is also one of the first bots in the "Star Wars" franchise to bring feminine programming to a major role. L3 is a hodgepodge of various droids and astromechs, which are robots typically used for repairs aboard starships in "Star Wars."

Spacewalking astronauts hooked up fancy new batteries Friday on the International Space Station's sprawling power grid. NASA reported that all three lithium-ion batteries were up and running, a successful start to the space agency's long-term effort to upgrade the aging solar power system. Before venturing out, Commander Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson got a hand from a robot that took care of most of the grunt work -- Dextre, a hulking machine with 11-foot arms. Peggy Whitson takes a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Friday, Jan. 6, 2016. Whitson and Commander Shane Kimbrough went spacewalking to hook up fancy new batteries on the International Space Station's sprawling power grid.

January 6, 2017 --Two astronauts went spacewalking on Friday as they began the two- to three-year task of replacing all the batteries for the International Space Station's power grid. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson, the world's oldest most experienced spacewoman, undertook a risky 6.5-hour spacewalk outside the 250-mile-high station. Their mission was to wire up three new lithium-ion batteries, each about the size of half of a refrigerator that Houston controllers had already replaced remotely, via the station's onboard, 11-foot-long-armed robot Dextre. The project to swap out the station's decade-old nickel-hydrogen batteries began on New Year's Eve, 2016. The lithium-ion replacements are much more efficient, meaning only 24 will be required to replace the 48 old ones.