The Valkyrie robot came up in conversation this weekend in response to a meme that stated “the problem with today’s generation” is that Kim Kardashian social has more followers than NASA.

 

I made the joke that I have more Twitter followers than NASA’s Valkyrie robot. A space-friendly friend of mine said he’d never heard of Valkyrie before.

I’m going to change that.

Last December I travelled to Texas, where I learned about the Valkyrie robot during a behind the scenes tour at the Johnston Space Center in Houston. This is a working campus with an integrated and controlled tourist viewing gallery.

The Valkyrie robot is being developed humanoid robot assistance in planetary exploration. And she/it has a cool glowy-thing on her/its chest! The other humanoid robot we saw is the dexterous Robonaut2 who can text faster and with more accuracy than I can.

 

 

Let’s face it. Robots are cool and they have endless potential. Maybe that’s why Will Smith wants to date one (see the last video). Designing humanoid robots raises the debate of what it means to be human if robots can be programmed to be autonomous, create art, or build cities.

What rights will they have as robotic entities? Should they have any? When city-building, culture-creating, AI robots begin propagating robots (like the drone hosts in last night’s Westworld Season 2 premier), what need will they have of humans?

These thoughts and more are what make space opera and science fiction fascinating.

Need more specs about the Valkyrie robot? Check out this article by Sky and Telescope or the embedded video:

 

.@NASA Astronaut meets NASA #Valkyrie robot – the possibilities for collaboration are endless! #Space #Robots pic.twitter.com/r5FkhLwVeR

— MassRobotics (@MassRobotics) April 19, 2018

 

The ultimate goal of space robotics is to assist humans in space and to establish planetary colonies in advance of human arrival. That’s why Valkyrie is humanoid with fingers, so she’ll use tools similar to her human descendants. That sounds … cryptic.

In her spiffy white outer shell, the Valkyrie robot spends her off time hanging from a frame that supports her 300 pound, six foot two frame. There are four Valkyrie robots being developed in partnership with NASA in different international facilities. Valkyrie has yet to be in space (unlike her Robonaut counterpart).

 

Hanging out with Valkyrie: NASA’s Superhero Robot at MassRobotics. https://t.co/MQz0RxGKpx pic.twitter.com/FkRY7ivx3H

— Yuri Cataldo (@YCataldo) April 18, 2018

What is is about our nature that drives us to follow a self-made celebs versus the people (and robots) who innovate our future? Maybe if the Valkyrie robot walked down a runway in a swatch of scantily placed fabric, she’d have more followers. Or, if NASA had her record herself climbing tall scaffolding and take a selfie, more people would livestream her risky antics.

To drum up a rabid following, the intrepid Valkyrie might consider public media stunts like her AI robot galpal, Sophia, who went on a date with Will Smith.

We have to follow the robots. Otherwise, how will we know they’re taking over the world?