Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina have begun training to operate the anthropomorphic robot "Teledroid," developed by the Magnitogorsk company "Androidnaya Tekhnika." This was reported by the Yuri A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (part of Roscosmos).
The new assistant is intended for work outside the International Space Station. It will be able to hand over tools and perform simple operations on the outer surface, which will reduce the number of human spacewalks and lower risks for the crew: "Teledroid" is capable of withstanding vacuum, radiation, and temperature fluctuations.
The device provides for three operating modes: automatic, copy mode — the most labor-intensive for cosmonauts, and supervisory, in which control is carried out through voice commands. Under supervisory control, the cosmonaut assigns a task, and the robot carries it out using machine vision. For example, it can pick up a hammer, hand over a wrench or other tools, and perform other standard operations.
At present, the crew is practicing control at different levels — from a virtual model to working with the real robot inside the station. In the future, tests are planned with a device that will operate outside the ISS. If everything goes according to plan, "Teledroid" will go into orbit as a full-fledged assistant to cosmonauts.