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The Japanese Space Agency JAXA has developed a robot that can operate in zero gravity (writes Nick Flaherty). The Internal Ball camera (Int-Ball) follows astronauts around on the International Space Station (ISS) to take pictures and video of the work they are doing. The Int-Ball is being used in the Japanese Experiment Module on the ISS. It moves around using small rotors, but the key to controlling its position is the use of miniaturised attitude control sensors and actuators in a single module. This is a cube measuring 10 x 10 x 10 cm including the wireless link and battery, and weighing 1.34 kg, with a 3D-printed exterior that is 15 cm in diameter and also houses two camera sensors. Inside the module is a control computer based around a 50 Hz system- on-chip from Cypress Semiconductor, with six MEMS accelerometers as the IMUs and three brushless DC motors that each drive a wheel to position the ball. These orthogonal wheels are used to maintain the orientation of the ball in zero gravity with a newly developed thin electromagnetic brake. This generates a braking torque of 2.1 Nm and reduces the wheels’ speed from 6000 rpm to zero within 100 ms to provide the inertial positioning. The module also includes a wireless link using the XBee protocol for receiving telemetry data and transmitting commands, and a small lithium-polymer battery. The camera can move autonomously and record still and moving images under remote control by JAXA’s Tsukuba Space Centre. The recorded images and videos can be checked in real time by flight controllers and researchers on the ground, and then fed back to the onboard crew. Zero-g robot for ISS crew Space systems The Int-Ball will follow astronauts around the ISS (Courtesy of JAXA)