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JAXA's Int-Ball Drone To Follow Astronauts In Space Station

The Int-Ball was delivered to the Japanese Experiment Module on the International Space Station, on June 4, 2017, aboard SpaceX's uncrewed Dragon capsule.


(JAXA's Int-Ball Drone video)

The device uses existing drone technology, but its interior and exterior parts were manufactured through 3D printing. The goal of Int-Ball is to reduce the time the crew spends on photography — which currently amounts for 10% of the crew's working time — to zero.

Int-Ball also allows ground workers to check footage in real time, and gives them the ability to see things from the on-board crew's point-of-view. It "will contribute to maximized results of 'Kibo' utilization experiments," according to JAXA, so the device is both cute and helpful.

The Int-Ball probably reminds regular Technovelgy readers of the Smart SPHERES (see SPHERES - Mini Satellites Fly In Formation and ISS Smart SPHERES Operated By Remote Control From Earth).

In 1999, MIT engineering Professor David Miller showed the movie Star Wars on the first day of class. During the scene where Luke Skywalker practices his light saber against a seeker remote, Miller stood up and said "I want you to build me some of those."


(Luke practices with seeker remote)

Via Mashable.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/20/2017)

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