Space travel
Remedy for loneliness: Robot support for bricklayers in space
The assistance system Cimon – the robot is supposed to keep the German astronaut Matthias Maurer company on the International Space Station. Photo: – / DLR / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
“Tell me something funny” – a free-flying robot with voice control is supposed to keep astronauts company in space. His name: Cimon.
Remedy for a bad mood: The robot Cimon is supposed to keep the German astronaut Matthias Maurer company on the International Space Station.
“If he ever feels bad, Matthias will say:” Cheer me up a little, tell me a joke or tell me something funny “, and then something will come,” said the head of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher German press agency in Paris.
The Cimon assistance system is a free-flying robot the size of a medicine ball with voice control and a display. Cimon is already on the ISS and is supposed to support the astronauts in their daily work. He can help if you have questions about specific tasks. Aschbacher explained, for example, whether a cable should be soldered on the left or right.
The idea behind it is that the missions will eventually get longer. “Of course you need the information first,” said Aschbacher. Especially with longer flights, you cannot contact the NASA flight control center in Houston directly. But Cimon is also about more, explained Aschbacher, namely “that this artificial intelligence companion also keeps some company and offers some entertainment, which of course is always very desirable”.
Maurer started for the ISS on November 11th together with three NASA astronauts. His German predecessor on the space station, Alexander Gerst, could count on Cimon’s help in space.