A voice-operated computer assistant is set to be used in space for the first time on Monday – its operators hope it proves more reliable than “HAL”, the treacherous speaking computer in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Called Clarissa, the program will initially talk astronauts on the International Space Station through tests of onboard water supplies. But its developers hope it will eventually be used for all computer-related work on the station.
Clarissa was designed with input from astronauts. They said it was difficult to perform the 12,000 procedures necessary to maintain the ISS and conduct scientific experiments while simultaneously reading through lengthy instruction manuals.
“Just try to analyse a water sample while scrolling through pages of a procedure manual displayed on a computer monitor while you and the computer both float in microgravity,” says US astronaut Michael Fincke, who spent six months on the station in 2004.
Clarissa queries astronauts about the details of what they need to accomplish in a particular procedure, then reads through step-by-step instructions. Astronauts control the program using simple commands like “next” or more complicated phrases, such as “set challenge verify mode on steps three through fourteen”.
Again, Xerox comes to the rescue.
Aaron Fulkerson 