Androids, robots that look like and sometimes act like humans, are not (just) a figment of star treks in galaxies far far away. This one (below) is built by General Motors (U.S.) for NASA and is called, drolly, Robonaut2 or just R2. It’s been in the works for ten years. R2 is designed to be, obviously, humanoid in appearance; but this is more than just a hunky bod – it’s making the robot so it can use human tools and equipment, including those which are to be worn like clothes. It is also designed to be very flexible, which usually means that it doesn’t have much strength; but R2 can lift 20 pound weights (roughly 8 kilograms). It’s also designed so that it can ‘work along with humans’, side by side, without causing major adjustments in the human’s natural reactions. It has several built-in sensory capabilities – visual, auditory, tactile. Not in their human form, of course, but analogous. In short, this is one sophisticated robotic dude. NASA has yet to deploy one in space, but this is a reminder that robots are, in fact, becoming more real all the time.

Robonaut2 (R2) the flexible humanoid robot. Credit: NASA