Technologies

Robots Could Help Humans Find Resources on the Moon and Mars

Scientists tested a semi-autonomous robot with legs and an arm to see how well it could travel on its own.

NASA rovers have revealed fascinating details and close-up images of Mars and the moon, but exploring other planets is slow. Most rovers are remotely controlled from Earth, and their careful, energy-efficient design limits how much ground they can cover.

Now, new research from the University of Basel, ETH Zurich, and the European Space Agency, published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Space Technologies, examines how robots that can «think» for themselves might help us search a planet’s surface much faster.

Because rovers are built and guided in specific ways, exploration is often limited, making it hard to collect data across a large area of the planet. It also takes a while to transmit data across the vast distance between Earth and other celestial bodies.

«Rovers are designed for energy efficiency and safety, and to move slowly across hazardous terrain,» the researchers said in a statement. «Here, we tested a different approach.»

They experimented with a «semi-autonomous robotic explorer» that can investigate multiple targets and collect data without being told where to go.

«The results showed that semi-autonomous robots equipped with compact instruments could significantly speed up resource prospecting and the search for ‘biosignatures’ (i.e., evidence of life) on planetary surfaces,» the researchers wrote.

So instead of humans controlling the robots via remote control over long distances, the researchers found that a robot outfitted with the right tools can navigate the surface and collect data at separate locations all by itself.

Testing autonomy

The researchers used a quadrupedal robot with a robotic arm. The robot, which they programmed to work without humans, carried a special camera and a spectrometer, designed to identify different materials.

«(The robot’s) autonomy is limited to the execution of predefined commands, including locomotion, waypoint navigation, instrument deployment and data return,» the researchers wrote in the paper.

To test the robot, the team used the Marslabor facility at the University of Basel in Switzerland. This facility simulates planetary surface conditions with a rocky environment and special lightning.

The robot moved through the facility to selected targets, like specific rock types hidden in the landscape. Then it used its robotic arm to deploy the science instruments and returned images and data for analysis.

The researchers compared this new strategy with a more traditional approach: scientists guiding the robot to explore one target at a time.

The researchers found that multi-target missions took the semi-autonomous robot 12 to 23 minutes, while human-guided missions took 41 minutes to conduct similar exploration and analysis.

Moon maneuvers

While most rovers use wheels to get around, using a robot with legs could be helpful, the researchers wrote, as some lunar resources are found in hard-to-reach terrain with steep crater walls, which could be a challenge for wheeled robots.

NASA has also been working on autonomous rovers that can explore and excavate on the Moon with minimal human direction. And while the current Artemis II mission won’t use a lunar rover, these robots could help pave the way for a sustained human presence on the moon.

In December, NASA used AI to successfully plot a course for the Mars rover Perseverance. The team used Anthropic’s Claude AI models for two demonstrations. The rover navigated obstacles on the Martian surface and drove approximately 1,500 feet without issue.

Technologies

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

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Technologies

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Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal