Russia is About To Send A Humanoid AI Robot to the International Space Station

On august 22, 2019, Russia will send the skybot F-850 — officially known as FEDOR — into space. The humanoid will take the spacecraft commander’s seat and fly it to the international space station (ISS). This is an exceptional flight as for the first time, the robot will move from the payload compartment to the commander’s chair, like the American humanoid robonaut-2, transported to the ISS some years ago.

The skybot F-850 is entirely a robot. It is an automatic device that has a predefined program with elements of artificial intelligence. It can do tasks such as sustaining equilibrium, decomposing common movements into distinct locomotor functions and deliver professional support for the crew in a self-directed mode. Moreover, the robot can work in an ‘avatar mode’, that is, under the full remote control of the operator. 

The humanoid robot can also talk on any topic run by its interlocutor. Before the launch of the soyuz-2.1a rocket carrier, it will report on pre-launch operations, and then while already in the launch and flight, it will be voicing the flight constraints and witnessed events. At the stage when the spaceship arrives in orbit, the robot will have to decide the value of the overload and the onset of zero gravity. 

“Like any person, skybot f-850 is very sociable and has a sense of humor,” comments alexander bloshenko, and science counsellor to roscosmos state space corporation’s director general. “As I have mentioned before, it can support any topic of conversation and answer a variety of questions: from welcoming remarks, continuing with a speech about its creators and ending with the philosophy of space.”