India has unveiled its first space robot, ‘Vyom Mitra,’ a humanoid who will travel to space later this year. Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) launched the robot, a half- humanoid, named ‘ Vyom Mitra’ in Bengaluru on January 23, 2020. The newly introduced humanoid is all set to emulate human behavior and can observe, recognize, and respond. A prototype for a half- humanoid, ‘Vyommitra,’ is a female who is proficient at performing multiple tasks, and can speak two languages, as reported by Times of India.
‘Vyommitra’- first Indian Humanoid Robot to Fly in Space
ISRO chairman, K Sivan, stated that the half-humanoid ‘Vyommitra’ would be sent on both the unmanned space missions of India, out of which one is scheduled to take off in December this year. ISRO has developed the space robot for laying the foundation of the upcoming manned space mission of India, ‘Gaganyaan’, which is scheduled for the year 2022.
The female half – humanoid put together has one head, two hands, and a torso; but has no limbs, thus, a half-humanoid. The name ‘Vyommitra’ has a symbolic meaning as the ‘Sanskrit’ words ‘Vyom’ means ‘Space’ and ‘Mitra’ indicates ‘friend’. Yet another marvel of the increasing innovation in Artificial Intelligence and technology, the half – humanoid can stimulate human functions vital in space.
Indian Space Robot’s Abilities
The visitors at the international symposium in Bengaluru, had an enthralling experience as the half humanoid female robot, seated and dressed in a formal uniform suit, greeted everyone and elucidated her abilities. “I can monitor pre-module parameters, alert you and perform life-support operations. I can do switch panel operations, ECLSS [environment control and life support systems functions, be a companion, converse with the astronauts, recognize them and also respond to their queries.”, announced the female looking half-humanoid in the launch event.
ISRO’s new and prominent female astronaut ‘Vyommitra’ will simulate functions while in space. It will perform all tasks of a human astronaut in the test flights of ISRO in December 2020 and June 2021, respectively, ahead of India’s first manned space mission in 2022, which will carry three male astronauts.
‘Vyommitra’ has been programmed for performing a series of operations, such as operating the switches, changing carbon-dioxide canisters in an emergency, interacting with the astronauts and even conduct ground operations with voice commands. It will be added with more features to help provide life support for astronauts in threatening situations, as told by the ISRO officials & Principal Scientific Adviser ‘K. Vijay Raghavan’ on the Humanoid launch event.
Related: Third Moon Mission of India.
