Russia, Japan may develop a space robot

MOSCOW, Oct 27, 2019, TASS. Russia and Japan may take part in a joint project on developing a space robot, Yevgeny Dudorov, the acting director of the Android Technology Company, which previously created a Russian anthropomorphic robot Fedor, informed TASS.

“A team from Japan plans to visit us to discuss the prospects of possible cooperation. They are announcing a joint robot development project, but it is hard to say what will happen in practice,” Dudorov noted.

The sides have not discussed yet whether the robot will be developed to perform tasks at the International Space Station (ISS) or in outer space, Dudorov added, noting that the Japanese specialists will come to Russia in December.

He added that South Korea had also offered to cooperate with Russia in the sphere of robot development, however, the sides have not agreed to a meeting yet.

The robot Fedor (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research or FEDOR) was developed by Android Technology Company and the Advanced Research Fund on a technical assignment from Russia’s Emergencies Ministry.

The robot was sent to perform tasks at the ISS from August 22 to September 7. Currently, the company is developing a robot (under the name of Teledroid) that would function in outer space. The first prototype of Teledroid is expected by March-April 2020.