GM and NASA’s R2 humanoid robot to debut on Super Bowl Sunday

On Sunday, millions of viewers across the globe will be able to watch the television debut of GM's and NASA's dexterous humanoid robot called Robonaut 2 or R2 during the Super Bowl pre-game show on Fox network.

R2 has been developed by NASA and General Motors via a Space Act Agreement using the latest technology after its predecessor Robonaut 1. Due to edge control, sensor and vision technologies installed, these futuristic humanoid robots are capable of working side-by-side with people, helping astronauts during hazardous space missions and helping GM build safer cars and plants.

The new robot has significant technical developments over its predecessor with around 4 times faster speed range. The advanced technology spanning the model includes optimized overlapping dual arm dexterous workspace, extended finger and thumb travel, redundant force sensing, series elastic joint technology, miniaturized 6-axis load cells, ultra-high speed joint controllers, extreme neck travel, and high resolution camera and IR systems.

Both GM and NASA have developed the current iteration of Robonaut taking the help of engineers from Oceaneering Space Systems of Houston. R2 will initially be operated inside the Destiny laboratory for operational testing, but over time its applications are likely to expand.