Astronauts abroad the International Space Station (ISS) have a new robotic companion. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Int-Ball is a spherical camera that resides in the Japanese module ‘Kibo’ on the ISS. Manufactured entirely by 3D printing, and using existing drone technology, it can move around autonomously or be controlled from Earth by JAXA Tsukuba Space Centre. The images it takes re transferred in near real-time allowing JAXA to quickly evaluate problems an offer solutions to ISS residents. It has cut the amount of the work done by Japanese astronauts on the ISS by about 10 per cent – photographing work and equipment for evaluation that otherwise would have to be done manually. In the future it will be able to check supplies and help with onboard problems.
Picture Credit : Google