Why NASA is testing its Valkyrie humanoid in Australia


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NASA's Valkyrie robot.

The Woodside Power group obtained coaching on the Valkyrie robotic. | Supply: NASA/JSC

NASA’s humanoid robotic, Valkyrie, is beginning a brand new mission in Australia. The robotic will put its expertise to the check as a part of a reimbursable Area Act Settlement with Woodside Power in Perth, Western Australia. 

The NASA dexterous robotics group from the Johnson Area Middle in Houston traveled to the Woodside headquarters to ship the robotic. There, NASA will use Valkyrie to develop distant dexterous manipulation capabilities to accommodate distant caretaking of uncrewed and offshore power services. Woodside Power will then check the ensuing software program and supply information and suggestions to NASA. 

Valkyrie is designed to be a strong, rugged, and fully electrical humanoid robotic that may function in degraded or broken human-engineered environments. It weighs round 300 lbs and is about 6 ft 2 in tall. 

This undertaking is NASA’s second reimbursable collaboration with Woodside. NASA stated it hopes this collaboration will assist Valkyrie advance distant robotic operations, which may assist enhance Woodside’s offshore and distant operations whereas additionally growing security for each personnel and the setting. 

These new capabilities is also utilized to functions for NASA’s Artemis missions and for different Earth-based robotics goals. Particularly, NASA hopes to leverage its expertise working Valkyrie in Woodside’s services to learn to higher design robots for work in soiled and dangerous circumstances. 

“We’re happy to be beginning the following part of growth and testing of superior robotic programs which have the potential to positively impression life on Earth by permitting safer operations in hazardous environments,” Shaun Azimi, lead of the dexterous robotics group at NASA Johnson, stated. “These demonstrations will consider the present potential of superior robots to increase the attain of people and assist humanity discover and work safely anyplace.”

Sooner or later, remotely-operated cellular robots on the Moon or Mars may permit Earth-based operators to conduct necessary actions when astronauts aren’t bodily current. These actions may embody inspection of upkeep of infrastructure and plans that leverage assets and supplies to supply new gadgets, enabling astronauts to reside off the land. 

NASA stated Valkyrie and different superior cellular robots may sometime be important instruments that permit people to oversee harmful work remotely and offload uninteresting and repetitive duties. These capabilities can be utilized each on Earth and in house. 

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