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Robot astronaut "KIROBO" returns to Earth
Dentsu Inc., the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Robo Garage, and Toyota Motor Corporation, with the cooperation of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), have been advancing the joint research project "KIBO ROBOT PROJECT" by having the robot astronaut "KIROBO" stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Now, KIROBO is set to return to Earth.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), KIROBO will depart the ISS aboard SpaceX's Dragon Resupply Mission CRS-5 spacecraft at 7:09 p.m. GMT on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 (4:09 a.m. JST on Wednesday, February 11). It is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean at 00:44 GMT on Wednesday, February 11 (09:44 JST on the same day).
A return briefing in Japan is scheduled for late March 2015.
Alongside JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata, KIROBO has conducted research toward a future where humans and robots coexist, including the world's first successful "experiment in human-robot dialogue in space." KIROBO's basic specifications and activity history are as follows.
  nbsp; & KIROBO before leaving the ISS
■KIROBOBasic Specifications
・Dimensions: Height approx. 34cm, Width approx. 18cm, Depth approx. 15cm
・Weight: Approx. 1,000 g
・Speech Language: Japanese
・Primary Functions: Voice recognition, natural language processing, speech synthesis, information communication functions,
Communication motions, Face recognition camera, Recording camera, etc.
■Project History
・November 29, 2012: Project announcement and call for robot nickname suggestions
・June 26, 2013: "KIROBO" and backup crew "MIRATA" completed and unveiled at press conference
・August 4, 2013: Loaded onto the Kounotori 4 supply ship for the ISS and launched from Tanegashima aboard the H-IIB rocket
・August 10, 2013: Arrived at the ISS
・August 21, 2013: First utterance from the ISS
  nbsp; "August 21, 2013. Toward the future of hope, this is the robot's first step."
KIRO at the moment of uttering the first words
・November 7, 2013: JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata departed for the ISS aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz.
・December 6, 2013: Conducted the world's first dialogue experiment between humans and robots in space
• May 14, 2014: JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata returned to Earth
・May 14, 2014: JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata returned to Earth.
・February 11, 2015: "KIROBO" returns to Earth (scheduled)
※Official Website : http://kibo-robo.jp/
Dentsu Inc. News Releasehttp://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2015/0210-003968.html
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