LISTEN: Edinburgh University building humanoid NASA robot for Mars mission
Edinburgh University are building a humanoid robot for NASA, which they then aim to send to Mars on a mission.
Edinburgh University are building a humanoid robot for NASA, which they then aim to send to Mars on a mission.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh hope that in around five years their 6ft (1.8m) tall creation, which weighs a shade under 20 stone (125kg), will be ready to go to Mars.
Like the Star Wars character C-3PO, the robot walks on two legs and has jointed arms and hands that can grasp objects.
There the comparisons end, however. The humanoid machine taking shape in Scotland is much bigger and less friendly looking than its film world cousin - a product of engineering necessity rather than deliberate design.
Perhaps fittingly it has been named Valkyrie, after the female war spirits of Norse mythology.
But the robot is not designed for battle, only to act as a servant for human astronauts. US space agency Nasa, which is collaborating on the project with the University of Edinburgh, intends to send Valkyrie to Mars before the first human explorers who are expected to journey to the Red Planet in the mid 2030s.
Valkyrie is the only example of its kind in Europe and one of three prototypes in the world.
Nasa built the machine's basic hardware before shipping it to the University of Edinburgh, which has a worldwide reputation for designing "smart'' robotic systems.
The humanoid design was chosen to make it easier for Valkyrie to work alongside people so that, for instance, no special ramps have to be provided to accommodate wheels.
It's though the robot could work alongside humans in four to five years.
We spoke to Professor Sethu Vijayakumar - who is leading the project.
Listen to that interview here: