GITAI’s Autonomous Robot Arm Finds Success on ISS

Late last year, Japanese robotics startup GITAI sent their S1 robotic arm up to the International Space Station as part of a commercial airlock extension module to test out some useful space-based autonomy. Everything moves pretty slowly on the ISS, so it wasn't until last month that NASA astronauts installed the S1 arm and GITAI was able to put the system through its paces—or rather, sit in comfy chairs on Earth and watch the arm do most of its tasks by itself, because that's the dream, right?