This robotic chimp could one day roam the moon
Could the next moon mission involve a small step for an ape, but a giant leap for all robots?
With renewed interest in moon exploration – in particular the remote possibility that deposits of helium-3, believed to be in greater concentration on the moon, could one day power nuclear fusion power plants on Earth – robots might be the ideal solution, especially to keep the costs down.
And a design from the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (also known as DFKI) in Bremen, Germany, has landed on the chimpanzee as its model for unmanned lunar missions.
DFKI hopes its design – called the iStruct Demonstrator and nicknamed “Charlie”- will capitalize on the inherent stability of the ape’s quadrupedal stance without losing the chimp’s versatility in climbing, grasping and moving over all types of terrain.
So, this is a thing…
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