Photo: Honda
With all the hype that surrounds present-day space exploration efforts, it’s curious how until now just a few big names of the automotive industry have jumped on board the train to this new promised land. And those that did are so far only marginally interested, with no major application being developed until now for use in space.
If they plan on being relevant in the worlds that will open up beyond the borders of our home planet, carmakers will eventually have to pay attention to what’s going on up there. And apparently among the first to do are the Japanese from Honda.
In a curious statement released on September 30, the company speaks about working on outside-the-box technologies that will open new areas and new markets. Among them, outer space.
That’s right, outer space. Through the Honda R&D Co. division, which handles, well, R&D for the group, technologies that will take the name “into the 3rd dimension, then the 4th dimension” will be developed.
We’ve already known the Japanese tied the knot with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the development of renewable energy systems in space, but now we learn of remotely-controlled robots, and even a small rocket.
The Japanese have revealed they’re working on a system capable of launching small low-Earth orbit satellites, a rocket that, at least in part, should be reusable. No other details were provided at this time, nor are we being given a timeframe for the rocket’s development.
What’s even more shocking is that Honda at one point states that some other tech it is currently working on could help humans overcome the “constraints of time.”
Now, if you immediately jumped on the time machine train on that one, you can relax. What Honda means by that is a multi-fingered avatar robot that can act as “a second self of the user.” It will be capable of using tools designed for human hands, picking up small objects with the fingertips, and even opening tight jar lids, and can be controlled from afar.
According to the company, this yet unnamed mechanical wonder should be ready sometime by 2030.
Full details on Honda's plans for the future can be found in the press release section below.
In a curious statement released on September 30, the company speaks about working on outside-the-box technologies that will open new areas and new markets. Among them, outer space.
That’s right, outer space. Through the Honda R&D Co. division, which handles, well, R&D for the group, technologies that will take the name “into the 3rd dimension, then the 4th dimension” will be developed.
We’ve already known the Japanese tied the knot with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the development of renewable energy systems in space, but now we learn of remotely-controlled robots, and even a small rocket.
The Japanese have revealed they’re working on a system capable of launching small low-Earth orbit satellites, a rocket that, at least in part, should be reusable. No other details were provided at this time, nor are we being given a timeframe for the rocket’s development.
What’s even more shocking is that Honda at one point states that some other tech it is currently working on could help humans overcome the “constraints of time.”
Now, if you immediately jumped on the time machine train on that one, you can relax. What Honda means by that is a multi-fingered avatar robot that can act as “a second self of the user.” It will be capable of using tools designed for human hands, picking up small objects with the fingertips, and even opening tight jar lids, and can be controlled from afar.
According to the company, this yet unnamed mechanical wonder should be ready sometime by 2030.
Full details on Honda's plans for the future can be found in the press release section below.
Google News