Source: Space.com
A group of engineers in Japan have begun planning a two-legged humanoid robot designed to walk to the surface of the moon, according to Japanese press reports.
“We decided on a human-like robot because it’s more fascinating and stimulating for us,” said association director Hideo Sugimoto to the Daily Yomiuri newspaper. “We’ll make an attractive robot to carry our dreams to the universe.”
The engineers are part of a manufacturing cooperative called Astro-Technology SOHLA, which is based in Osaka Prefecture, a local governing unit in the Kansai region on Honshu – the main island of Japan.
The huge development costs could make it difficult for the group’s plans to materialize, but the association is poised to try. They feel the project could boost Japan’s manufacturing industry by showing the public that small and mid-size companies can have lofty goals and be competitive, the engineers said.
Japan is known for its advanced robot manufacturing technology, and the association stated that it would be able to use its expertise in dealing with radiation and heat to develop a robot that could function on the lunar surface, reported the Daily Yomiuri.
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