Wearable social robots in space

Social robots have been developed on Earth since the 1990s. This article shows that they can also provide added value in space – particularly on a manned flight to Mars. The focus in this paper is on wearable social robots, which seem to be an obvious type due to their small size and low weight. First, the environment and situation of the astronauts are described. Then, using AIBI as an example, it is shown how it fits into these conditions and requirements and what tasks it can perform. Possible further developments and improvements of a wearable social robot are also mentioned in this context. It becomes clear that a model like AIBI is well suited to accompany astronauts on a Mars flight. However, further developments and improvements in interaction and communication are desirable before application.

Keywords

Subject (DDC)

330 - Wirtschaft

Project

Event

International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR)

Exhibition start date

Exhibition end date

Conference start date

Conference end date

Date of the last check

ISBN

978-981-95-2379-5
978-981-95-2378-8

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Language

English

Created during FHNW affiliation

Yes

Strategic action fields FHNW

Publication status

Published

Review

peer-reviewed

Open access category

Closed

License

Citation

Siegmann, T., & Bendel, O. (2026). Wearable social robots in space. In M. Staffa, J.-J. Cabibihan, B. Siciliano, S. S. Ge, L. Bodenhagen, A. Tapus, S. Rossi, F. Cavallo, L. Fiorini, M. Matarese, & H. He (Eds.), Social Robotics + AI. 17th International Conference, ICSR+AI 2025, Naples, Italy, September 10–12, 2025, Proceedings, Part III (pp. 462–469). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-2379-5_33

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