Finally, a robot that understands

Robots that can understand us and follow commands have been around for a long time in books and movies.

But a team of students has made fiction reality with new technology that promises to allow astronauts the ability to talk directly to the robots working with them through the communications systems in their suits.

Today, robots that operate in space are run by people on Earth using joysticks and remote controls, but that's a burdensome process. In fact, it can take as long as 20 minutes for a command from Earth to reach a robot on Mars, according to Shane Jacobs, an aerospace engineering graduate student and member of the project team.

With the voice-command system, which should be operational by next year, an astronaut will be able to give direct orders to robots instead of having to rely on ground control. This way, the team says, there will be no signal delay, and the robot will be able to respond almost immediately, moving from one place to another and assisting in maintenance tasks such as handling tools.

"We are envisioning future space operations," Jacobs said. "You want to work with robots like you work with fellow humans."

The system uses software that takes the words of the astronaut and turns them into instructions that the robot will recognize and understand.

The team, which consists of five graduate students and three undergraduates, started their work last spring, said Martin Stolen, an aerospace engineering graduate student and team member. Dave Akin, director of the Space Systems Laboratory, leads the project.

Besides space missions, the ability to verbally control robots will have more Earth-based applications. The same technology could be incorporated into robots that help in all aspects of life, such as assisting the elderly, Stolen said.

Robots can also be sent to places that are hazardous to humans, such as earthquake recovery, said Barrett Dillow, an aerospace engineering graduate student and team member.

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