Ford taps space robots for new tech

Ford is studying how robots communicate in space, to make cars communicate better here on Earth. The car giant is working with the space telematics department of Russia's St Petersburg Polytechnic University on a project that will help develop smarter cars that can 'talk' to each other.

The three-year project will work towards technology to develop networks that connect cars with each other -- known as V2V, or vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Along with that, the research will also work on V2I (vehicle-to-infrastructure) systems aimed at having your car communicate with traffic lights, street lights and other parts of the road system.

Why work towards talking cars and roads? As traffic congestion increases in many cities around the world, a connected system is seen as one of the future potential tools to help ease it. Along with that, the researchers aim to improve response times for emergency services, particularly in cities where it's becoming difficult to get an ambulance, for example, quickly to an accident.

Space robots are the focus of the research because their systems include multiple ways for the communication to get through -- so if one method fails, there are several fallback systems to take up the baton.

“The research of fallback options and robust message networks is important,”  Ford technical leader in systems analytics, Oleg Gusikhin, said. “If one network is down, alternatives need to be identified and strengthened to reliably propagate messages between networks.”

Three robots in particular will be the main focus of the project: Robonaut 2 -- which is currently doing duty on the International Space Station, the Eurobot Ground that is being developed specifically to work on the surface of other planets, and the humanoid DLR Justin robot. 

This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott