An ancient Arabic machine manuscript

What’s so great about machines?

It’s easy to see how some of today’s mechanical marvels like NASA’s Mars Spirit Rover or The HRP-4C, created by The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), inspire jaw-dropping wonder. Who made that? And how on earth does it do that? Are all natural questions that come to mind in the face of these modern works. However, there’s something about animated bits of wire and metal that have intrigued humans for centuries.

The ancient Greek mathematician and engineer, Hero of Alexandria  (c.AD 10–70), was rumoured to have built robots made locomotive through the use of air pressure. Accounts of the creation of a human-like automaton even go back as far as the 10th century BC, in the ancient Chinese Lie Zi text. And since their existence, people have prophesied about what their role could be, for both good and evil. Even Aristotle had an opinion on robots. After noting Homer’s reference to them in Lliad, he speculated  that robots might one day bring world-wide human equality, ultimately ending any want for slaves.

But our fascination with machines extends far beyond robots… from the measly coffee maker to the mighty space shuttle, we’ve included many in both our daily and monumental rituals. And speaking of a monumental ritual, you may want to check out what went  at the Burning Man festival this week. Artists there put on a terrific display when they ran 3.2 billion base pairs of encoded DNA run through pattern-generating software that was projected via a 60 W Laser. Talk about blurring the line between art and science.

And speaking of art, perhaps our fascination with machines has more to do with what we gain from the process of creation itself. The famed robotocist, Masahiro Mori, stated the following in the Japan Times after founding the first nation-wide robot-building competition in Japan back in the 80′s: “When we lose ourselves in an activity, we become creative, friendly and funny. Think of how children are when they are playing. They are completely absorbed in the game; their eyes shine and they are all smiles. They’re into the game, not themselves”.

It takes a while to get over 90 million km away from earth. Although NASA’s rover Curiosity hit the road for Mars at the end of November, 2011, the robot isn’t expected to land on the planet until August 6th of this year. In the past, rovers like this one had set out to look for evidence of water on Mars but this time Curiosity will be keeping a look out for any spots on the planet that may have been particularly hospitable for life. Curiosity is scheduled to be stationed up there for the next 2 years where it will spend the majority of its time exploring Gale Crater which scientists believed was formed about 3 and a half billion years ago during a particularly tumultuous time for our solar system.

The crater’s most impressive feature is Mount Sharp, a 5 km high pile of debris that rises from its centre. While scientists aren’t exactly sure how this structure was formed, they suspect it’s composed of the sediment that used to fill the crater. The area is a particularly special geological hotspot. As NASA scientist John P. Grotzinger explains, “There is no place on Earth you can go to get the whole history at once… at Gale you don’t need to reconstruct the layers. You can see how they go from older to younger. You’ve got time’s arrow always pointed in the right direction. It’s all laid out very simply”.

One thing that might not be so simple, is the actual landing of the robot on Mars. While NASA will attempt to land Curiosity on a flat surface as close as possible to Mount Sharp, the exact landing spot will only be determined by the bot’s final steer towards Mars. Check out the video above to get a sense of the challenge Curiosity’s got ahead of itself!

This bot is practicing its satellite-fixing skills in space

Guided by ground staff at Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA centres, Dextre practiced some very fine-tuned skills with a mock satellite at the International Space Station. Some of the robot’s movements are so precise, CSA president, Steve MaClean said  “it’s the robotic equivalent of threading a needle while standing on the end of a diving board”.

During the 3 day trial up in zero gravity, the robot was able to retrieve tools and release launch locks on the pseudo satellite and later this summer Dextre will go on to transfer fuel to it.  If all goes well, researchers hope the robot will be able to refuel real satellites by spring of 2013.

The humanoid robot R2, developed by NASA and General Motors, was launched as part of the STS-133 mission  on the Discovery shuttle on February 24, 20011.  Up until last week R2 was asleep, packed away in its box but now R2 is active and ready to be up and running. R2 even  has its own twitter account!

With the idea of building a humanoid robot that could assist astronauts in space, work on the first robonaut began in 1997.  Through experiments on earth,  R2′s  predecessor R1, proved that a robot companion in space could be highly useful, aiding astronauts with tasks that are either very risky or very boring. In 2007, R1 caught the eye of General Motors who had been working on its own version of a dextrous robot and a formal Space Act Agreement was signed between NASA and the multi-billion dollar company.

Currently R2 is still getting a hold of its bearings, getting used to space and the whole microgravity thing.  This September R2 will begin some experimental work and ¨as R2 proves its mettle, the robot may graduate to station maintenance tasks, such as vacuuming or cleaning filters¨. In the future, NASA is confident that R2 will become an important asset to astronauts wherever their mission may take them.

Check out some pictures and find out more about R2  HERE