NASA on Tuesday announced it has awarded one R5 humanoid robot each to MIT and Northeastern University to conduct research on adapting them for use in space.
The universities were selected from U.S. entries in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Robotics Challenge held in June.
NASA seeks to engage a diverse and talented pool of engineers and scientists to develop and test unique solutions that will "have the potential to significantly enhance, or potentially enable, missions that we can only dream of today," NASA program executive Ryan Stephan told TechNewsWorld.
Each team will receive up to $250,000 a year for two years. They also will get onsite and virtual technical support from NASA.
NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate is funding the projects.
Autonomous and tele-operated robots will reduce humans' exposure to potentially toxic conditions on other planets or asteroids, said Mike Jude, a research manager at Frost & Sullivan.
Robots would cut costs for initial Mars explorations because "humans could stay in Mars orbit or perhaps land on Phobos" one of Mars' two moons, "and operate ground robots in real time," he told TechNewsWorld.
"Highly autonomous, reliable robotic systems will be required for a variety of missions and functions to prepare and support human Mars missions," Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate, told TechNewsWorld.