NASA's robots that are flying inside the International Space Station are called Spheres (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental satellites). They have limited capabilities, but they'll soon possess more when Google 3D smartphones act as their eyes and brains.
The space agency plans to send Google's latest smartphones to the ISS on July 11 when Orbital Sciences is scheduled to conduct a commercial resupply mission. NASA's Sphere robots are bowling-ball sized satellites that test a set of well-defined instructions for spacecraft performing autonomous rendezvous and docking maneuvers. The red, blue, and orange robots also have the capability to test algorithms for a number of missions.
The Google smartphones with 3D sensing technology are part of the company's Project Tango, which aims to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion. The project encompasses the research of universities, laboratories, and industries in nine countries to combine such technology into one mobile device. NASA believes that equipping their Spheres with the Google phones could potentially allow the robots to handle daily chores for astronauts aboard the ISS and even handle risky duties outside of the station.
"We wanted to add communication, a camera, increase the processing capability, accelerometers and other sensors," Spheres project manager Chris Provencher, in this Reuters news article. "As we were scratching our heads thinking about what to do, we realized the answer was in our hands. Let's just use smartphones."
So Provencher and the project's members went to Best Buy and purchased smartphones. By adding extra batteries and shatter-proof displays, the Sphere robots were given new sensing and visual capabilities, but not enough to please the engineers. NASA then contacted Google to inquire about Project Tango to see if that technology would help the robots move and operate more smoothly. Google smartphones equipped with the latest 3D technology will now be sent to astronauts aboard the ISS.
NASA split open these phones so that the touchscreen and sensors face outward when they are mounted on the Spheres. The motion-tracking camera and infrared depth sensor that's used for the Xbox Kinect, will help the robots detect sharp angles and create a 3D map to improve their navigation from one point or mission to another.
The commercial resupply launch is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. this Friday and will be broadcasted by NASA TV. You can read more about NASA's Spheres being equipped with Google 3D smartphone technology in this NBC News article.
