NASA’s robonaut is going blind

The International Space Station’s resident robot is going blind, and NASA has put out a call to Earthlings for help.

Robonaut 2, for those not in the know, is NASA’s highly dexterous robot-astronaut that’s been assisting its ISS-based human counterparts with various tests and tasks since 2011.‎

Sadly, R2’s extended stay in space has evidently taken its toll, with the space agency reporting a deterioration in the bot’s 3D vision capabilities.

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“Humans use glasses to help them see better, but for robots, the fix is in their code,” the space agency said on its website this week.

Offering prizes worth $10,000, NASA is calling on skilled coders to create new algorithms to help R2 “see” better.

“In order to use a tool, R2 relies on an algorithm to determine a 3D representation of the tool,” NASA explains. “The algorithm works with the robot’s control system and allows R2 to create a plan for grasping objects and completing its tasks.”

The existing algorithms used by R2 work on the assumption that high-resolution images are always available. But because its vision sensors aren’t working so well anymore, new algorithms are required in order to distinguish the differences in objects based on noisy, stereo vision data.

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