Scientists in the US are developing a new type of robot assistant designed to help astronauts as they work on board the International Space Station (ISS). A bit bigger than a sliothar, it will be the next best thing to an electronic pet, only you do not have to feed it or take it out for a walk.
The Personal Satellite Assistant (PSA) is being developed by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ames Research Centre and by a group of four industrial partners. It will be able to manoeuvre about under its own power, following the astronaut. The PSA will provide a range of services on board but will also act as a remote eye-in-the-sky for ground-based controllers.
"The key technological issues with the PSA are its ability to combine and apply intelligent systems with advanced navigation and autonomy," according to NASA which has already developed hand-held versions of the PSA.
One could picture it as a very intelligent electronic organiser which can move about under its own steam, monitoring environmental conditions, providing video conferencing for the astronauts or watching over experiments for ground controllers.
NASA describes it as a "little orange helper", the colour associated with the reddish orange tint used in screen-based prototypes of the PSA. It comes into its own when orbit is reached and zero gravity comes into play. The PSA is equipped with six "micro propulsion" points which allow it to be moved about.
Planners envisage the PSA having sufficient built-in intelligence to be able to position itself appropriately, but it will also be linked into the computer networks on the ISS enabling ground handlers to send it instructions.
Its Ames developers see it contributing in four main areas, environmental monitoring, communications, remote support under the control of ground handlers and crew worksite support.
The PSA will be programmed to patrol the astronauts' living quarters and laboratories where it will monitor oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and other gas levels. Its sensors could be used to capture experimental data such as microgravity levels, temperature or pressure.
It has a built in visual display unit so it can provide a mobile display for presenting data or sending messages. It will feature microphones, speakers and a video camera for video and audio conferencing, but it is also a wireless bridge to hardwired communications systems.
When under the command of ground controllers, the PSA can be sent to do remote chores, watching over lab animals or giving views of mission operations. When hovering near crew, it can give information about health status, schedules, what to do next in a complex process, in fact anything thought necessary to help along a mission.
"The PSA system has great potential to push the frontiers of crew and payload support, mission planning, and problem isolation and correction," according to NASA. "The scope of autonomous operations must range from manual control to multiple independent PSA collaborations with astronauts."
Developing the PSA is being done on a cheap and cheerful basis in keeping with NASA's current approach of keeping costs down, as seen for example in its low-cost Mars satellite missions. It is also being forced into this more bang for the buck approach because of budget cuts imposed recently by the US Congress.
It is therefore building PSA in conjunction with industrial partners such as Boeing Co, Lockheed Martin and other firms and NASA says the PSA system will be "based on COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) components", which will help it "meet realistic development schedules and costs".
Components of the ISS are already in orbit and the first human occupation of the station will come next year. It will take a bit longer to get a few prototype PSAs into "orbit" around their astronauts, but NASA expects them to be used on the ISS and on any future manned trips to the Moon or to Mars.
Nor is NASA avoiding an opportunity to pronounce on the sci-fi potential of these autonomous virtual pets. "Evolutionary and far-reaching technologies such as hologram projections, intelligent technologies and evolving peripheral devices will play a significant role in the PSA's future development and application," NASA predicts. Somebody had better warn Stephen Spielberg.
