Robots play on board the ISS

The special feature: The two systems are not designed to be able to do this. New standards therefore had to be developed to close this gap. Another hurdle was that the robots are connected to different ISS networks. In addition, the experiment was developed jointly by two space agencies across several languages.

During the experiment, astronaut Takuya Ōnishi spoke to Cimon in the European Columbus module. He used his voice commands to control the Int-Ball2 flying camera in the Japanese Kibo module. After the astronaut had familiarized himself with the Int-Ball2 controls, he located a number of objects inside the Kibo module and photographed them. The items were previously hidden here. These included a Rubik's cube and standard tools on board the ISS such as hammers and screwdrivers as well as Int-Ball1, the predecessor of the current Int-Ball2. The camera image of Int-Ball2, which can normally only be seen on Earth in the Japanese control center, was streamed to Cimon's display.

What sounds simple at first is a first in space. Not only did two systems that were never designed for this purpose have to interact with each other, they also had to meet the high safety standards of the ISS. They do not normally allow communication across the boundaries of the various networks in the different modules of the ISS.

"The ICHIBAN demonstration on the ISS in cooperation with our colleagues at JAXA represents a significant milestone in space robotics. The first communication between the independently developed Cimon and Int-Ball2 systems paves the way for the integration of artificial intelligence and robotics in exploration. This achievement will significantly improve support for astronauts," says Dr. Christian Rogon, ICHIBAN project manager at the German Space Agency at DLR.

Better experiments in space

Both systems could work together in the future to support experiments and document them photographically. They could also use a camera to inspect the interior of the ISS for defects. They could also detect free-floating objects that could pose a danger to the crew and the experiments on board.

The Cimon-2 assistance robot

Cimon (Crew Interactive Mobile Companion) has been on the ISS since 2018. It is the first robot to use artificial intelligence to interact with the ISS crew in a free-floating manner. The astronaut assistance system can see, hear, understand and speak. Cameras and software for orientation and video documentation serve as Cimon's 'eyes'. As a flying crew assistant, Cimon has shown in an initial experiment that it can also support astronauts in untrained activities, such as a small experiment, through its guidance. It can also provide scientists on Earth with images of the experiment in real time. Cimon can also talk to the astronaut or play music for him.

The development and construction of the interactive astronaut assistant was commissioned by the German Space Agency at DLR with funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and has been implemented by Airbus in Friedrichshafen and Bremen since 2016. The voice-controlled artificial intelligence is provided by watsonx, IBM's portfolio of AI products. The human aspects of the assistance system were co-developed and supervised by scientists from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) hospital.

Int-Ball2: JAXA's flying eyes

Int-Ball2 (Japanese Experiment Module Internal Ball Camera) is a further development of Int-Ball and a JAXA drone equipped with cameras. It has been on the ISS since 2024 and is controlled from the ground. Int-Ball2 is stationed in the Japanese Kibo module and enables the ground control team to film every location and every angle of the Kibo module without the help of astronauts. This relieves the astronauts, who previously had to spend around ten percent of their working time taking photographs. Int-Ball2 was developed and built by the Japanese space agency JAXA, while the system's software was developed by the company SEC.