Los Angeles, July 8 (IANS): In a bid to empower robots on board the International Space Station (ISS), NASA is planning to send Google's 3D smartphones into space.
The idea is to equip the robots with more functionality and make them smarter.
Once at the ISS, smartphones will use their onboard motion-tracking cameras and infrared depth sensors to safely navigate around the ISS, BBC reported.
The robots are known as 'Spheres' (Synchronised Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental satellites).
Astronauts will attach smartphones to the Spheres, giving them more visual and sensing capabilities, the report said.
"This is an incredibly clever way to unite different technologies in an unexpected way," Noel Sharkey, a professor from the University of Sheffield, was quoted as saying in the BBC report.
Eventually, the US space agency plans to see Spheres helping astronauts with daily chores and risky tasks.