Robonaut 2, NASA's robotic crewmember aboard the International Space Station, is set to get a set of legs, the space agency says.
The robot also known as R2, currently legless and attached to a support post within the ISS, will get the legs being developed with funds from the agency's Human Exploration and Operations and Space Technology mission directorates.
NASA scientists say the legs will allow the robot to become mobile and permit it to perform routine and repeating task both outside and inside the orbiting facility.
Tasking the robot with more required but routine tasks will free up ISS human crewmembers to more critical operations and scientific research, they say.
Robonaut 2 is the latest example of a long involvement by NASA in robotics, they say.
"NASA has explored with robots for more than a decade, from the stalwart rovers on Mars to R2 on the station," says Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington. "Our investment in robotic technology development is helping us to bolster productivity by applying robotics technology and devices to fortify and enhance individual human capabilities, performance and safety in space."
The legs, expected to be launched to the ISS aboard SpaceX's unmanned Dragon supply capsule on April 14, will give Robonaut 2 a 9-foot leg span when the legs' seven joints are fully extended.
Instead of feet, the legs will be provided with devices called end effectors, allowing Robonaut to move about using sockets and handrails both outside and inside the space station.
The effectors will include vision tools to help the robot's controllers automate and visualize leg movements.
Robonaut 2 will work inside the station at first since its torso will require modifications before it can operate around the outside of the ISS, NASA says.
After initial checks, it says, the robot will take its first steps inside the space station in late June.
A twin Robonaut 2 on Earth has been used to complete an ultrasound exam on a mannequin and give it an injection, all under the remote control of a human doctor.
Such a technique could eventually be used to treat an ill astronaut in space or one who has suffered an accident.
