MADRID. (EUROPA PRESS) -NASA plans to use a humanoid robot to develop remote manipulation capabilities in maintaining an offshore unmanned extraction platform.
To this end, the space agency provided a Valkyrie robot to the Perth, Western Australia-based energy company Woodside Energy. It will test the resulting software and provide data and feedback to NASA, helping to accelerate the maturation of space robotics technology.
Valkiria will advance robotic remote operations capabilities that have the potential to improve the efficiency of Woodside’s remote and offshore operations, while increasing safety for both its personnel and the environment. Additionally, the new capabilities may have applications for NASA’s Artemis missions and other Earth-based robotics targets.
NASA plans to draw on experience operating Valkyrie at the Woodside facility to learn how to better design the robots to work in dirty and dangerous conditions like those found on the Moon in long-term workplaces and habitats. to be established as part of future Artemis missions.
Remotely operated mobile robots on the lunar and martian surface could allow ground operators to perform important activities, even when astronauts are not physically present, NASA reports in a statement.
These activities include inspecting and maintaining infrastructure and plants that harness resources and materials to produce new items, allowing astronauts to live off the land. The Woodside tests will also provide valuable data for NASA engineers on the use of advanced robots in similar terrestrial applications.
Valkyrie and other advanced mobile robots can be vital tools in allowing humans to remotely supervise dangerous work and offload boring and repetitive tasks, allowing humans to work on higher-level tasks, including robot deployment and maintenance. .
