Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Home | Dictionary | Timeline | New

JAXA Int Ball 2 Coming Right Along As Star Wars Remote

Apparently the Japanese JAXA engineers have been working on this Star Wars-style remote for help around the station in space.

We supported the flight training of Int Ball No. 2. It is surprisingly difficult even for us humans to maintain our position in a gravity-free ship with circulating air, but he may be better than I am at staying perfectly still in the fixed position.

Fans of the original Star Wars movie may recall the wonderfully adroit seeker remote. In 1999, MIT engineering Professor David Miller showed 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."

(Seeker remote from Star Wars)

"No one, not even the Jedi scientists, were able to truly define the force. Now, let's try again."

The old man was hefting a silvery globe about the size of a man's fist. It was covered with fine antennae, some as delicate as those of a moth. He flipped it toward Luke and watched as it halted a couple of meters away from the boy's face. Luke readied himself as the ball circled him slowly, turning to face it as it assumed a new position. Abruptly it executed a lightning swift lunge, only to freeze about a meter away. Luke failed to succumb to the feint, and the ball soon backed off.

Lots of related articles here - the students got busy!:

  - SPHERES - Mini Satellites Fly In Formation
  - Personal Satellite Assistant: Servant Of Astronauts And Jedi
  - Astronauts Test Star Wars Remote On Space Station
  - MKV-L Multiple Kill Vehicle Video
  - Nexus S Directs SPHERES On ISS
  - HoverBall Bids Farewell To Ballistic Motion
  - Yes, But Do Astrobees Have Lasers For Lightsaber Training?

See also this similar anime idea - Dr. Stone and REI version 37.

(Dr. Stone and REI37)

The next version of Rei we see, Version 37, is a much sleeker, more rounded robot which, instead of propellers, uses air blasts to move around in zero gravity. It has a spherical round main body with a couple of gyroscope "legs," which help balance the robot and also house its hands. A couple of round sensors are located on top, probably to serve for spatial recognition and sound input, while its eyes are comprised of two high quality circular cameras.

(From Dr-Stone Fandom)

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/15/2025)

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")

Beautiful Visualization of Dawn Spacecraft
'Then he became aware of a gentle pressure pushing him away from the ship.' - Isaac Asimov, 1939.

Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...' - Clifford Simak,

Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
Preventing annoying space debris build-up.

Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'

	Web TechNovelgy.com

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Warfare Goes Underground In Ukraine
'Once in the very first weeks of the war, before everyone had been evacuated from the surface...'

3D Printed Organs From Space
'For a while your colonists will have to come up to the [orbital] Hospital...'

Robot Bees 3D Printed By Festo
'At first I was struck by the large size of these bees..'

DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'

How To Settle An Argument Between Two Robots
'Henry... assumed the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits.'

The Wind Phone Calls Those Who Have Passed On
'Only I heard that!'

Don't Want To Wear A TIght Shiny Bodysuit?
'He looked a good bit like an elderly, fat beetle.'

Light Society: Simulates Earth-Scale Society With A Billion AI Agents
'The king, an old hand in the running of tyrannies, instantly grasped the directions...'

Satyress Centaur Robot Horror Reminds Everyone Of Something
'Fess was very dutiful'

When Colds Threaten You Can't Do This - Or Can You?
'...a hemispherical force field enclosing his head.'

Beautiful Visualization of Dawn Spacecraft
'Then he became aware of a gentle pressure pushing him away from the ship.'

Biological War: A Scenario
'And now they wre busily transforming all their companions, and so on, and so on...'

Pole-Dancing Stripperbot Robot
'Why, a clockwork dancer, or, better still, one that would go by electricity and never run down...'

Collective Superintelligence Is At Hand!
'Maybe the individual intelligence of each Cubic pools into a group intelligence...'

Instant Journalists: Ordinary People With Cell Phones
'We'll show them whose planet this is!'

Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor
'The electronic body analyzer had been developed...'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories