Robohub.org
 

Lego robot controlled from space


by
10 November 2012



share this:


Researchers from the METERON space project have for the first time ever successfully controlled a LEGO robot at ESA’s Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, from the International Space Station (ISS) using Nasa’s Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) protocol.

On October 23, American astronaut Sunita Williams had ~1.5 hrs to set up the ESA METERON (Multi-purpose End-To-End Robotic Operations Network) payload and conduct an initial Operations & Communications Test Part 1 (OPSCOM-1) of the Rover Control Software, time-sequenced with an actual LEGO rover on the ground in Germany (constrained to a 2.5-hr battery life).

METERON is an ESA led international space project for advanced telerobotics technology demonstration involving the International Space Station. METERON is targeted at validating autonomous and real-time telerobotic operations from space to ground.

METERON is being carried out in partnership with DLR (Institute of Robotics & Mechatronics), NASA (Johnson Space Centre, AMES Research Centre, Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and Roscosmos with Russian partners (RTC Institute St. Petersburg, Energia).

Check out the video trailer below.



tags: ,


Wolfgang Heller





Related posts :



Interview with Zahra Ghorrati: developing frameworks for human activity recognition using wearable sensors

and   08 Oct 2025
Zahra tells us more about her research on wearable technology.

Women in robotics you need to know about 2025

  06 Oct 2025
This global list celebrates women's impact across the robotics ecosystem and globe.

Robot Talk Episode 127 – Robots exploring other planets, with Frances Zhu

  03 Oct 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Frances Zhu from the Colorado School of Mines about intelligent robotic systems for space exploration.

Rethinking how robots move: Light and AI drive precise motion in soft robotic arm

  01 Oct 2025
Researchers at Rice University have developed a soft robotic arm capable of performing complex tasks.

RoboCup Logistics League: an interview with Alexander Ferrein, Till Hofmann and Wataru Uemura

and   25 Sep 2025
Find out more about the RoboCup league focused on production logistics and the planning.

Drones and Droids: a co-operative strategy game

  22 Sep 2025
Scottish Association for Marine Science is running a crowdfunding campaign for educational card game.

Call for AAAI educational AI videos

  22 Sep 2025
Submit your contributions by 30 November 2025.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence