Published : Dec. 16, 2013 - 15:20
'Iron Man 3'
NASA’s announcement Friday of an Iron Man-like robot has gone viral in South Korea.
“We want to get to Mars. Likely, NASA will send robots ahead of the astronauts to the planet. These robots will start preparing the way for the human explorers and (the time) when humans arrive,” said Mr. Nicolaus Radford, the leader of NASA JSC’s Dexterous Robotics Lab Project.
The humanoid robot, named “Valkyrie,” was built at the Johnson Space Center in Texas. It weighs 120 kilograms and is 186 centimeters in height. Axes of rotation in its joints enable it to make 44 different movements.
In comparison to existing robots, this superhero robot will be more like a human, with greater flexibility and responsiveness thanks to the modular structure and high-tech gadgets attached to its body.
NASA’s new robot was designed for the upcoming DARPA Robotics Challenges, a forum for robots that can work like humans in dangerous environments such as nuclear disaster zones.
By Yoon Ha-youn, Intern reporter
(
yhayoun@heraldcorp.com)