Robot successfully builds space structure in first autonomous construction demo

AI Summary

A Caltech-designed robotic truss builder autonomously assembled a structure in space, marking the first demonstration of this kind without astronaut assistance. The system is part of DARPA’s NOM4D program, which is exploring mass-efficient construction in orbit and on the Moon.

A robotic truss builder that was conceived, designed and built by Caltech researchers has successfully built a structure in space—without the help of astronauts—for the first time. The truss builder, part of DARPA's Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program, consists of an autonomous manipulator that picks up struts and joints held in nearby dispensers to repeatedly assemble identical sections, or bays, of a perimeter truss.