At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) hexapod robot created for the independent movement of the outer casing of the space station for repair and inspection of construction works, also able to help the inhabitants of space at home and inside.We have once told you about this project when he was only reminded by no more than technical "entertainment." Now, however, LEMUR is a more serious practical interest, as a new generation of robots in this series received significant innovations in design.
To give flexibility, stability and functionality to address the project manager engineer Brett Kennedy (Brett Kennedy) and his colleagues decided to combine the capabilities of this technological "miracle" of particular movements of the octopus, crabs, primates and ... jackknife.
Each of the limbs includes mounting hardware that will diagnose problems and perform other necessary operations. Maximum flexibility of the robot is provided and due to free rotation around its body axis, limbs, fixed in place, but because there is no gravity in space, LEMUR can be retained on the surface of the station just one limb.
In experiments carried out in terrestrial conditions, the robot showed impressive tricks: Turn the bolt in the darkness, flashing his flashlight, and even wrote with a fountain pen. And during spaceflight LEMUR could not only assist astronauts (both outside plant and inside it), but further and climb the rocks on other planets.