Introduction
India is entering the “Space Era ” with élan and poise. Before attempting India’s first indigenous human space flight , a specially developed half- humanoid – viz, Vyommitra, will travel to space solo, to help determine ,if thr trip is safe enough for the subsequent human flight. The prototype half- humanoid – Vyommitra readied by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), was presented to the nation at Bengaluru. Later this year she will fly to space commandeering an unmanned mission ,aiming to lay the ground for ISRO’s manned mission ” Gaganyaan in 2022. The astronauts to take the manned mission have been already selected from the IAF and are undergoing rigorous training. Vyommitra , aptly named ,since Vyom means space and mitra, friend. She is a half- humanoid because the robot resembles a human body ,but only the upper torso with head and hands. Like any robot, a humanoid’s functions are determined by the computer systems to which it is connected. With the growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, humanoids are increasingly used repetitive jobs with perfection, like that of a waiter at a restaurant or a telephone operator or a receptionist at a counter. In Kerala a restaurant is using humanoid waiters successfully which is drawing huge admirers of the robots ,to the restaurant. The world is already getting conversant with AI technologies which power modern systems like auto- driven cars, voice – operated systems like Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant and humanoids which perform simple functions like walking, talking , moving things, and obeying simple commands.
Necessity of Humanoid for Space Travel
ISRO is hard pressed for time since the human crew will man the space ship in 2022. It is of paramount importance to develop a fool- proof, safe space journey and return of our astronauts. Other countries that have successfully launched humans into space did so after having used animals for conducting tests of their rockets and crew recovery systems. ISRO intends go a step further, since animals are not in a position to obey orders to operate systems and conduct experiments, which a humanoid is capable of doing. ISRO will use Vyommitra to test the efficacy of its GSLV Mk III rocket to transport humans to space and back. ISRO rocket is currently undergoing improvisation to ensure human inhabitation and safe transportation. Its first un- manned mission with the human- rated rocket is planned for December 2020. The crew module system is also under development to ensure safe journey and recovery, using new test launch rockets.
ISRO has tremendous experience in building robotic systems for its space projects. If we recall, AI was at the core of the “Lander System viz, Vikram used for the September 2019 Chandrayan 2 mission to the Moon by assessing distances, speeds and processing commands stores in the Lander System. However, to the dismay of the Nation, Vikram crash – landed when it attempted to land on the surface of the moon. This incident had been a dampener on the morale and high spirits of ISRO.
Hence the pressure from the Central government on ISRO to ensure safe journey and return of astronauts, is tremendous. ISRO will simulate the human trip of GSLV Mk 111, by using the humanoid and will attempt a dry run.
Tasks Assigned to ‘Vyommitra’
In the Sci-Fi film “Interstellar” which is about space and time travel, the central character is an Artificial- Intelligence – Robotic- powered Computer System called TARS. It talks to the astronauts, assist as a crew member, and even rescues them in times of crisis. TARS was not a humanoid but a robotic system with exceptional capabilities.
Vyommitra is a basic version of TARS , though created to operate the space craft for its flight and safe return. Once fully developed, this Humanoid will perform as a solo astronaut, adept to operate all equipment on board the crew module and will communicate with the Ground Control receiving and acting on all commands from the Control station. Attaining launch and orbital postures, responding to the environment, generating warnings and alerts, replacing Carbon Dioxide canisters , operating switches, monitoring the crew module , receiving voice commands, responding via speech ( bilingual), face recognition of crew members etc., are the functions listed for the humanoid.
Vyommitra will have lip movement synchronized to mimic speech. She is designed to work as a buddy to another astronaut. She can provide audio inputs on aspects like the health of the spacecraft during the launch , landing and orbital phases of the manned mission.
Vyommitra will also report back to Earth on the changes occurring in the crew module during the space flight and subsequent return back to Earth such as heat radiation levels, during re-entry stage of module.
Robots in Space
Many nations who are in Space Club are using such robots to discover the secrets of space. The most recent mission with a dummy astronaut was in March 2019, when a mannequin called Ripley was flown on the Dragon crew capsule , launched on a Space X Falcon rocket and sent to the International Space Station(ISS). Ripley was fitted with sensors to measure forces that act during a space flight as part of Space X preparations to send a human to space in 2020 for NASA.
An artificial Intelligence robot ball called CIMON( Crew Interactive Mobile Companion) was deployed on the ISS by Airbus.
Kirbo, a humanoid robot astronaut built in Japan ,was flown to the ISS along with the first Japanese Commander of the ISS, Koichi Wakata , to serve as the assistant of Commander, in conducting experiments on the space station. Kirbo was equipped with technologies like speech recognition, facial recognition, language processing, and tele- communication capabilities.
A Russian Humanoid robot, Fedor, was sent to ISS in 2019 to carry out mechanical functions on the space station.
Conclusion
India is emerging as a pioneer in the Robotic and Artificial Intelligence fields, exploring unchartered territories. DRDO has plans to design and create humanoids for the bomb disposal squads of Army and other security forces in the near future. Soon you may find humanoids working in all risky and hazardous environments in India, like in Atomic Power plants, where there is a risk of getting exposed to radiation, or in expeditions going to Arctic regions for experiments. Like the Sci-Fi movie- International Soldier, the days are not far when robots will fight as the foot soldiers of Army, negating loss of human lives, in the futility of wars.
Jai Hind