Robots, especially those out in the solar system, are nothing new… after all humanity currently has 3 active robotic rovers on Mars. However, those move around using wheels and the future of space and Earth robotics might soon look more human.
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00:00 Robots, especially those out in the solar system, are nothing new.
00:07 After all, humanity currently has three active robotic rovers on Mars.
00:10 But those move around using wheels, and the future of space and Earth robotics might soon
00:15 look more, well, human.
00:17 This is NASA's newest automated astronaut, named Valkyrie.
00:21 It stands an imposing 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 136 pounds, and its abilities could
00:26 soon rival those of a living human.
00:28 But that's not their eventual goal.
00:29 Here's NASA's Dextrous Robotics team lead, Sean Azimi, to explain.
00:33 Any time that we spend with a robot to make preparations for the crew saves the crew that
00:40 much time and gives them more time to spend on exploration and discovery.
00:45 So we're not trying to replace human crews, we're really just trying to take the dull,
00:51 dirty and dangerous work off their plates to allow them to focus on those higher level
00:55 activities.
00:56 In fact, Valkyrie currently requires a human operator on the ground.
00:59 But it's not just NASA developing human-like robots.
01:02 Many companies are developing their own to fill gaps in the workforce.
01:06 Those companies include the likes of Amazon, who have begun a pilot program featuring their
01:10 robot Digit, something automation analyst Ruben Scriven says illustrates the issue of
01:14 robots taking jobs like never before.
01:17 A humanoid robot is really job-loss personified.
01:20 [Music]