Meet Vyomamitra, the talking human robot that Isro will send to space
The Indian Space Research Organisation on Wednesday unveiled the first glimpse of the humanoid named 'Vyommitra' — a female robot — that will travel with the four Indian Air Force pilots for the Gaganyaan Mission in 2022.
Even before orbiting astronauts on India’s first manned mission to the space in December 2021, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will send Vyomamitra, a lady robot, in the unmanned Gaganyaan spacecraft.
The robot was the centre of attraction at the inaugural session of the “Human Spaceflight and Exploration – Present Challenges and Future Trends” here on Wednesday (January 22).
Vyomamitra, a combination of two Sanskrit words Vyoma (Space) and Mitra (Friend), took everyone by surprise when she introduced herself to the audience gathered there. “Hello everyone. I am Vyomamitra, the prototype of the half-humanoid, been made for the first unmanned Gaganyaan mission,” the robot said.
Explaining about the role in the mission, she said, “I can monitor through module parameters, alert you and perform life support operations. I can perform activities like switch panel operations…”
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The robot said she can also be a companion and converse with the astronauts, recognise them and respond to their queries.
ISRO chairman K Sivan told reporters the humanoid will simulate human functions in space and also interact with the environment control life support system. “It will be simulating exactly the human functions there (in space). It will check whether the system is right. This will be very useful to simulate as if a human is flying,” said Sivan.
Earlier, addressing the inaugural function, Sivan said that ahead of the launch of India’s maiden human spaceflight venture Gaganyaan in December 2021, ISRO will undertake two unmanned missions in December 2020 and June 2021.
