back to article NASA palms off blunder-bot Valkyrie for top US universities to fix

It can put Man on the Moon, but NASA has turned to universities to get its clumsy humanoid robot Valkyrie up to scratch. The robot, now dubbed R5, competed two years ago in the DARPA robotic challenge, and tied with two other teams for last place after failing to complete any of the specified tasks. Now the agency has awarded …

  1. Mark 85

    WTF?

    Why did they chose the last place in the DARPA Challenge besides it being their own? I would think that for that kind money they could get one of the winners...

    1. Notas Badoff

      Re: WTF?

      I think you are confused. They tied with two other teams for last place two years ago. MIT/NEU were not those other teams.

      This year, MIT was 6th out of 23 entries, and Northeastern is acquiring talent (sounds like sports!) from WPI/CMU, who were 7th out of 23 entries this year. Considering that NASA may have a bias towards domestic non-commercial entities, it would seem they've picked the two top choices.

      (Rah rah rhee, kick'em in the knee! Rah rah rhass, kick'em in the other servo!)

      1. Robert Helpmann??
        Childcatcher

        Re: WTF?

        I wasn't confused about it at all and still think it looks a bit like polishing a turd. If there already is a better starting point from which to work, why not use it? NASA might have a particular bias, and the two entities that they chose are definitely not bad choices, it's just that they are decidedly not the best choices. I would have thought that NASA would have learned by now that politics and engineering do not combine well in achieving good outcomes.

        Also, if NASA reverses course on this, the next headline could be "Valkyrie gets the SCHAFT!"

        1. Someonehasusedthathandle

          Re: WTF?

          If you have already paid for the turd and still never got it polished why not give it to a uni to polish, you'll at least get some brownie points for passing stuff down to education.

          I mean they could just stick it in a warehouse and forget about it.

          They are just choosing the 2 yank "success's" at the DARPA competition as the lucky polishers.

          1. Chris G

            Re: WTF?

            Staying 'In House' is also possibly due to memories of the Hubble Telescope; having an outsourced, updated R5 3/8 written as R5.375 might confuse them.

    2. NoneSuch Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: WTF?

      They should call them Synth's and start working on teleportation technology. I hear they're all the rage in the future.

  2. W Donelson

    Crap Idea

    Stupid, crap, idiocy.

    And going to Mars is a joke. Deep gravity wells are incredibly expensive to enter/exit.

    NASA needs a shake-up

    1. Steve 114

      Re: Crap Idea

      So don't go there? Maintain momentum and use a robot instead.

  3. This post has been deleted by its author

  4. Graham Marsden
    Unhappy

    "something less useful than Marvin the Paranoid Android"

    "Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they ask me to take you to the bridge. Call that job satisfaction, 'cause I don't."

  5. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
    Coat

    I take it R5 is not an upgrade of R2D2, then?

    Sorry, I'll get me coat

    1. Geoff May
      Joke

      I believe it was going to be RC until someone said that out load so they changed it to RS. They then realised that RS wasn't funky enough (got to have a number in it somewhere) so it was changed to R5.

      1. Geoff May

        ... said that out load ...

        should be "said that out loud" ... (sorry)

      2. James O'Shea

        More likely the good folks at RC Cola objected. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RC_Cola

        That, and NASA really didn't want to be associated with the #3 and fading cola brand.

  6. Dan Paul

    Obligatory reference....

    "Number 5 is still alive"

    Ben Jarhvi: You have made many modifications upon your person, huh? You have come a long way from the Defense Department prototype.

    Johnny Five: You betcha!

    [parodying an electronics store's late-night TV ad]

    Johnny Five: It's the all-new Johnny Five! Just look at these items! Increased memory: five hundred megabytes on-line! I come with a utility pack and dozens of gadgets for outdoor living, lots of Greenpeace stickers, and even my own Nike swoosh! And, if you act now, I'll throw in, absolutely free, my all-new, multi-frequency remote control!

  7. Deryk Barker

    You do realise?

    "Northeastern University in Boston and MIT in Massachusetts"

    Boston is in Massachusetts...MIT is in Cambridge, Mass.

  8. kyza

    Cooper: Hey TARS, what's your honesty parameter?

    TARS: 90 percent.

    Cooper: 90 percent?

    TARS: Absolute honesty isn't always the most diplomatic nor the safest form of communication with emotional beings.

    Cooper: Okay, 90 percent it is.

    I wonder what NASA's honesty parameter is set to based on how much of a mess the original project was...

  9. Dr Patrick J R Harkin

    They've sent Valkyrie to university?

    Well, if it can fall over and flail around on the ground while being unable to get up, it'll fit right in with our freshers.

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