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A Robot Named R2 Will Be at the Super Bowl Today

Well, if you thought you were too nerdy to be a part of Super Bowl Sunday, how about this: A robot. Named R2. Will be featured in the pre-show at 2:00 PM EST on Fox. Why? Because R2 (full name: Robonaut 2) is going to be the first humanoid robot to travel into space. And that’s not the only awesome space-related event of the day. Today, we’re going to see pictures of the entire sun for the first time ever.

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But first, R2. According to Universe Today, while one version of R2 will remain on Earth for our Super Bowl festivities, a near-identical replica is already packed onto the Space Shuttle Discovery and will be launched February 24, headed for the International Space Station. Said to be the “most sophisticated” and “most dextrously advanced humanoid robot in the world,” R2 will be assigned to assist in the “assembly, maintenance and scientific output of the ISS.”

Says Ken Kremer:

The amazingly dexterity of the jointed arms and hands enables R2 to use exactly the same tools as the astronauts and thereby eliminates the need for constructing specialized tools for the robots –- saving valuable time, money and weight.

The robot is loaded with advanced technology including an optimized overlapping dual arm dexterous workspace, series elastic joint technology, extended finger and thumb travel, miniaturized 6-axis load cells, redundant force sensing, ultra-high speed joint controllers, extreme neck travel, and high resolution camera and IR systems.

R2 weighs some 300 pounds and was manufactured from nickel-plated carbon fiber and aluminum. It is equipped with two human like arms and two hands as well as four visible light cameras that provide stereo vision with twice the resolution of high definition TV.

Kremer also compares R2 as a “lively and powerful 300-pound gorilla.” He declined to mention whether R2 could set other robots on fire or fly, but we’re sure they can just add that in in a prequel.

Now, those Sun pictures. At around 7:30 PM EST, NASA’s aptly named STEREO spacecrafts will position themselves on opposite sides of the Sun, where they will observe the entire sphere just in time for the halftime show. The article isn’t clear on whether we will be seeing live pictures of this, but judging from the timing, that seems possible.

So, there will absolutely be something for the nerds today, to say nothing of the trailers for Captain America and Thor, plus the Darth Vader commercial.

(photos by Ken Kremer, story via Universe Today)

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