JAXA, SONY, TOMY and Doshisha University Team on Lunar Transformer Robot
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Speed Magazine reported that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is teaming up with Sony, toymaker Tomy, and Doshisha University to fly a baseball-sized transforming robot to the Moon next year. In a statement released 27 May, JAXA said, “the ultra-compact and ultra-lightweight robot will obtain data on the lunar surface ahead of the agency’s launch of its six-wheeled crewed rover in 2029. …When it lands on the moon, the spherical bot will transform itself into a running form capable of withstanding the harsh environments on the lunar surface.” If successful, Japan will be joining the U.S., Soviet Union and China in having successfully landed a robot on the Moon.
The Japanese spherical transformer is one of the latest spherical robots. Another in this unique genre is the GuardBot. See our 2020 report, which includes a schematic of the robot’s interior layout, here.