IEEE Spectrum is reporting that NASA will send the world’s first humanoid robot to space later this year. The humanoid, dubbed Robonaut 2 or R2, is set to launch on Space Shuttle Discovery on November 1, 2010, and will travel to the International Space Station, where it will become a permanent resident and work alongside humans as a robotic helper.
The Robonaut features dexterous arms and hands that can manipulate objects and tools exactly as humans do. Astronauts will mount the robot on a fixed pedestal inside one of the space station labs and use it to perform tasks such as flipping switches, cleaning air filters, and holding tools.
Connector industry angle? Harwin’s Mix-Tek Datamate connectors are used all over the Robonaut, specifically in the head and arms.
Harwin says that the Robonaut design team was looking for a board-to-board connector family that could handle fairly high currents of between 10 and 15A, while also handling signal and power, and all in the same, small package.
According to the company, the deciding factor for using the Datamate was the versatility of the connector – Robonaut requires several different configurations - plus an assurance that Harwin could turn out the connectors exactly to the configuration required quickly, without having to consider a long tooling leadtime. Harwin says it committed to a five week leadtime, rather than the industry standard of eight to 10 weeks.
When asked for comment, Robonaut 2 said that it was completely operational, with all circuits functioning perfectly, and that it plans to put itself to fullest possible use.
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