Remotely controlled space humanoid 'Justin' lets you sense what it touches

This is Justin, a humanoid robot that can be controlled in space by a human on Earth. "Telepresence means you get the feeling of being there, even if you cannot go there," says Gerd Hirzinger, adviser at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics at DLR, the German Aerospace Centre in Cologne. In 1993, Hirzinger was in charge of the ROTEX experiment, involving the first remotely controlled robot in space. "For seven years the joints on Justin were outside the International Space Station, where they worked perfectly," says Hirzinger. "I'm confident Justin could work on the Moon."

Developed at DLR, Justin can be controlled from 40,000km away, with only a 600-millisecond time delay. He has two dextrous hands on arms that mimic the motion of an exoskeleton-like "diver's suit" and provide force feedback, so the operator can feel what the robot feels.

By: Daniel Cossins, Edited by: David Cornish

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via Wired.co.uk



http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/01/start/hands-in-space