Aeronautics company Airbus has successfully launched an AI assistant called CIMON into space. The artificial intelligence system is the first to arrive on the International Space Station (ISS) and is powered by IBM's Watson supercomputer and overseen by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in cooperation with Airbus. CIMON stands for "Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN" and is a mobile and autonomous system designed to help astronauts with everyday tasks on the ISS, while also providing companionship. CIMON was created using 3D printing and made of plastic and metal. "We are the first company in Europe to carry a free flyer, a kind of flying brain, to the ISS and to develop artificial intelligence for the crew on board the space station," said Manfred Jaumann of Airbus.

MIAMI – A floating, ball-shaped artificial intelligence robot specially trained to follow around a German astronaut at the International Space Station is scheduled to blast off Friday on its ground-breaking mission. The basketball-size device, called CIMON (Crew Interactive Mobile Companion), was described as a "flying brain" by Manfred Jaumann, head of microgravity payloads at Airbus SE. It launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Friday at 5:42 am, along with some 5,900 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of gear packed aboard SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo capsule. CIMON's activation will mark "a historical moment," becoming the first robot of its kind to interact with people in space, said Christian Karrasch, CIMON project manager at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), during a NASA press briefing Thursday. A project in the works for the past two years, CIMON has been trained to recognize the voice and face of Alexander Gerst, 42, a geophysicist with the European Space Agency.

"CIMON will be the first AI-based mission and flight assistance system," said Manfred Jaumann, Head of Microgravity Payloads from Airbus. "We are the first company in Europe to carry a free flyer, a kind of flying brain, to the ISS and to develop artificial intelligence for the crew on board the space station," said Jaumann. CIMON has a brain-like AI network made up of plastic and metal and is designed to support astronauts in performing routine work, for example by displaying procedures or offering solutions to problems. With its face, voice and artificial intelligence, becomes a genuine'colleague' on board. Crew members can do more than just work through a schematic view of prescribed checklists and procedures; they can also engage with their assistant.