Astronaut farewells space robot

[Lohan2008]

In scenes reminiscent of a science fiction film a Japanese astronaut (Koichi Wakata) has bid an emotional farewell to his robot companion as he prepared to head back to Earth.

The unusual exchange between astronaut Koichi Wakata and his intergalactic colleague Kirobo was filmed aboard the International Space Station as the Japanese prepared to end his six-month mission, The Telegraph reports.

As the pair parted ways the astronaut said he was sorry that they would not return to Earth together and he regretted leaving Kirobo alone.

"I'll be alright. I'm a robot," Kirobo replied.

Mr Wakata said they would meet up again once they were back on Earth, prompting the robot to reply "On Earth, let's talk about space again".

Kirobo was sent to space to conduct experiments with Mr Wataka about robot-human conversation.

Rather than just repeating pre-programmed phrases, Kirobo processes questions and rapidly searches its extensive vocabulary to try and come up with a suitable reply.

The astronaut is due to return to Earth at some point today.

Kirobo is due to leave the International Space Station at the end of the year.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/2014/05/14/11/34/astronaut-farewells-space-robot

[TheGatesofLogic]

it's usually frowned upon to directly copy a written article word for word without adequate citation. You should also try to initiate a discussion, because it isn't clear wat you want to be discussed in this thread. This isn't reddit let me remind you...

[vger]

Give the OP a break. This was pretty interesting to see. Maybe not so much for what it IS, but for what it will be someday. With enough development, this kind of interaction could help keep people sane on long voyages.

[Ralathon]

Any reason why they had to send this robot to the ISS? Seems like a weird place to test this kind of thing. If you need a secluded area some base in Antartica seems a much cheaper alternative.

[Scotius]

Publicity, man. Publicity No one outside of scientific community cares about Antarctica. But "Talking robot in SPAAAAACEEEE!" will bring you a lot of attention.

[Duxwing]

Waaah! It must be like being without a pet. I hope that someday hence we will see robots and humans chat and banter.

-Duxwing

[Tommygun]

Maybe they could use him for a secondary experiment like the Russian spacesuit satellite.

They could tape a radio to him and blow the little guy out an airlock.......for science.

[Lohan2008]

GatesofLogic, I do not even know what you are talking about ??? The article has a link at bottom for citation, it is an science article that members may find interesting to read, there is no need to "discuss" it. WTF is reddit ?? What in hell is your experience at writing articles because I have no idea where you get off telling others how to post !!!

Edited May 15, 2014 by Lohan2008

[lajoswinkler]

This reminds me of Gerty.