A PINT-SIZED Japanese robot that became the first android to converse with an astronaut in space has returned to Earth after 18 months in orbit, project organizers said Thursday. “Kirobo” — roughly the size of a chihuahua — hitched a ride back from the International Space Station (ISS) on a cargo supply spacecraft that splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, sponsors including Toyota Motor and advertising firm Dentsu said.
Kirobo, which left Earth in August 2013, was programmed to communicate in Japanese and keep a record of its conversations with Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to command the ISS.
The robot was part of a study aimed at learning how a non-human companion can provide emotional support for people isolated over long periods. Millions of Japanese schoolchildren were captivated by the adventures of a creation that showcased Japan's drive to combine cutting-edge technology and its obsession with all things cute.
While aboard, Kirobo and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata held the “world's first conversation experiment between a human and a robot in outer space, and conducted research for a future in which humans and robots coexist,” Dentsu said in a statement. (Japan has a thing for androids and doesn't seem to see a freaky side to a future with more robots in it – companies from Hoonda to Sony have all made them.)
Conversations between the android and the astronaut were mostly chitchat, aside from a goodbye in May when Wakata was getting ready to leave the space station ahead of the robot. A YouTube video of that conversation had a nostalgic piano track, and Wakata apologized for leaving Kirobo behind. “I'll be all right, I'm a robot,” he responded. — Agencies
