NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Robonaut 2 Team Receives AIAA Robotics Award

Robonaut 2 – the first dexterous humanoid robot in space – is pictured in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station measuring the air flow in front of vents inside the station to ensure that none of the ventilation ductwork gets clogged or blocked. Credit: NASA

The NASA team behind Robonaut 2, the first humanoid robot in space, has been awarded the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space Automation and Robotics Award for 2013. AIAA is the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession.

Robonaut 2, or R2, is a dexterous humanoid robot built and designed at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Sent to the International Space Station in 2011 with the intention of aiding astronauts on dangerous tasks and freeing them from some the more mundane work, upgrades to the R2 system continue to produce novel advances in the field of robotics.

“The R2 development team is an incredible group of talented people and I am so proud that the team has been recognized with this prestigious honor,” said Dr. Myron Diftler, Robonaut Principal Investigator at NASA Johnson. “To be acknowledged this early in our planned activity on ISS is especially notable. This award from our peers gives us increased confidence that R2 is on a track to even more success as we move towards mobility inside, and then outside the International Space Station.”

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