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Watch Russia’s Gun-Toting Robot Use a Power Drill on the ISS

Let's hope he doesn't drill a hole in the wall!
Victor Tangermann Avatar
In a first-person view video uploaded to Twitter by Russia's space agency today, humanoid robot Fedor can be seen manning an electric drill.
Image: Roscosmos

Just a Drill

Last month, the Russian space agency sent a humanoid robot called Fedor — which had previously been shown blasting out rounds with a pistol — to the International Space Station.

And today we get an update from its brief visit in space: a first-person video uploaded today to Twitter by the agency shows Fedor flailing his arms around, using an electric drill and what appears to be a white towel.

I’ll Be Back

Luckily, the robotic gunslinger was under the control of Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin, who can be seen wrestling the drill out of Fedor’s grasp toward the end of the clip.

The life-sized humanoid robot will be leaving the ISS in a matter of days, ending its two week vacation in Earth’s orbit. While in space, Fedor was taught how to connect and disconnect electric cables and use tools, including an electric drill.

The idea is to replace tasks that are otherwise dangerous to humans — including deep space missions and spacewalks.

READ MORE: See Russia’s daring humanoid robot Fedor wield an electric drill in space [CNET]

More on Fedor: Russia Just Sent Its First Robot to Space

I’m a senior editor at Futurism, where I edit and write about NASA and the private space sector, as well as topics ranging from SETI and artificial intelligence to tech and medical policy.