Saturday, April 13, 2019

How a Robotic Tail Could Help Future Space Travelers

Valentina Sumini, a postdoctoral associate at the MIT Media Lab, and Manuel Muccillo, a product designer, are building a robotic tail called "SpaceHuman". This prototype of a robotic tail will allow the person wearing it to anchor and balance while floating in environments of reducing gravity and allow them to grab objects. If this project was to work, it could be a game changer. The attributes of this product will not only meet the needs but it will also provide a service never done before to the wearers. 

There are over 50 people working on this project. They are making this product not only for Astronauts but also to the people that are soon going to be traveling to the moon. It is said that in 2023 the first ever tourist, Yusaku Maezawa, will be flying to the moon. Although, their sales forecast was not yet released, I have to assume that the prices will be pretty high. The expectation of performance that will reflect on the producers goals and their marketing plans will have to meet the standards of the producers. 

I chose this article because I thought it was interesting. It made me want to look back in time and realized how far we have become. How technology has changed and how it keeps improving every singe day. Innovations like these have made the world we live in tremendously. 

Source:

Kamping-Carder, Leigh. “How a Robotic Tail Could Help Future Space Travelers.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 5 Apr. 2019, www.wsj.com/articles/robotic-tails-and-zero-gravity-orchestras-lifestyle-upgrades-for-space-11554472496.