Science & Technology

NASA unveils prototype humanoid robot

By T.K. Randall
December 16, 2013

Image: NASA's Valkyrie Robot
Credit: (PD) NASA/Bill Stafford, James Blair, Regan Geeseman Weighing in at 20 stone, NASA's answer to Iron Man features sophisticated articulated legs and arms, a head that can tilt and swivel and hands with three fingers and a thumb.Capable of tasks such as walking across uneven terrain, driving, climbing ladders and using tools, the robot has been designed to be as autonomous and human-like as possible. At the moment it can operate for around an hour from one charge of the battery it carries around in its backpack.

Valkyrie is NASA's entry in the DARPA Robotics Challenge, a competition that aims to drive innovation towards robots able to take over the tasks conventionally assigned to humans. Competing against it for a $2 million prize will be Boston Dynamics' own Atlas robot which sports a similar humanoid design.


Source: Telegraph

Tags: NASA, Robot, Valkyrie