Well, crap, James Cameron got it wrong. It isn't Cyberdyne Systems that causes the downfall of human civilization, it's General Motors.
The General has announced that, along with NASA, it has created human-like robots (Terminators) that will live and work and eventually turn on their human masters aboard the International Space Station (ISS). These robotic assistants will work alongside astronauts in space and, eventually, with workers at futuristic GM manufacturing plants on Earth. In a ploy to make us more comfortable with our pending overthrow by machines, GM has named the harbinger of doom "Robonaut 2" or "R2" for short. Don't be fooled. These are not the droids they appear to be.
In a terrifying series of photos – see gallery below – GM and NASA show the robots holding what appear to be futuristic weapons (above), doing bicep curls, posing like attacking zombies, and oddly, performing Hamlet.
The 300-lb Robonaut 2 will launch on Space Shuttle Discovery in September. Once aboard the ISS, engineers will monitor how the robot handles weightlessness while the robot will monitor the astronauts for weaknesses it can later exploit. There's actually already a robot aboard the ISS, Dextre, that was built by the Canadian Space Agency. Dextre is really just a giant pair of robotic arms that help take care of things outside the station so astronauts don't have to make as many spacewalks. He has yet to rip any astronauts in half, but he's never had an R2 unit to provoke him now, has he?
GM has been hinting about their ambitions to build Terminators since at least the early '80s. Remember the Chevrolet Chevette? Well, it had a cousin over at Pontiac. Anybody remember the name? That's right, freaking T1000. Hello? T1000? "Have you seen this boy?" Liquid metal. Stabbing weapons for hands.
We are screwed people. Hit the jump to read the press release equivalent of the Book of Revelation and check out the freaky photo gallery below.
[Source: General Motors]
PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON -- NASA will launch the first human-like robot to space later this year to become a permanent resident of the International Space Station. Robonaut 2, or R2, was developed jointly by NASA and General Motors under a cooperative agreement to develop a robotic assistant that can work alongside humans, whether they be astronauts in space or workers at GM manufacturing plants on Earth.
The 300-pound R2 consists of a head and a torso with two arms and two hands and will launch on space shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-133 mission planned for September. Once aboard the station, engineers will monitor how the robot operates in weightlessness. R2 joins another station robot, known as Dextre. That robot, built by the Canadian Space Agency, consists of two, long arms to perform tasks that normally require spacewalking astronauts to complete.
While Dextre is located on the station's exterior, R2 will be confined to operations in the station's Destiny laboratory. However, future enhancements could allow it to move more freely around the station's interior, and it could one day be modified to operate outside the complex.
"The use of R2 on the space station is just the beginning of a quickening pace between human and robotic exploration of space," said John Olson, director of NASA's Exploration Systems Integration Office. "The partnership of humans and robots will be critical to opening up the solar system and will allow us to go farther and achieve more than we can probably even imagine today."
The dexterous humanoid robot not only looks like a human, it is designed to work like one. With human-like hands and arms, R2 is able to use the same tools that station crew members use. In the future, the greatest benefit of humanoid robots in space may be as an assistant or stand-in for astronauts during spacewalks or for tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans. For now, R2 is still a prototype and lacks adequate protection needed to exist outside the space station in the extreme temperatures of space.
Testing the robot inside the station will provide an important intermediate environment. R2 will be tested in zero gravity, as well as being subjected to the station's radiation and electromagnetic interference environments. The interior operations will provide performance data on how a robot may work side-by-side with astronauts. As development activities progress on the ground, station crews may be provided hardware and software to update R2 to allow it to do new tasks.
R2 is undergoing extensive testing in preparation for its flight. Vibration, vacuum and radiation testing along with other procedures being conducted on R2 also benefit the team at GM. The automaker plans to use technologies from R2 in future advanced vehicle safety systems and manufacturing plant applications.
"The extreme levels of testing R2 has undergone as it prepares to venture to the International Space Station are on par with the validation our vehicles and components go through on the path to production," said Alan Taub, vice president of GM's global research and development. "The work done by GM and NASA engineers also will help us validate manufacturing technologies that will improve the health and safety of our GM team members at our manufacturing plants throughout the world."
"Partnerships between organizations such as GM and NASA help ensure space exploration, road travel and manufacturing can become even safer in the future," Taub said.
GM's manufacturing engineering team is already working to identify potential applications for R2's array of vision, motion and sensor technologies that will assist workers in manufacturing operations.
"Our strategy is to develop technologies that can fundamentally change the way we manufacture cars and trucks", said Kenneth D. Knight, executive director GM Manufacturing Assembly & Automation Center. "This includes a focus on developing ways to further support our operators."
About General Motors: General Motors, one of the world's largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 217,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, FAW, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.
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