The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency brought a cute spherical camera drone, called the Int-Ball, to remotely float around and watch over the astronauts while they work on the International Space Station. According to JAXA, the “camera drone can record video while moving in space under remote control from the ground.”
Int-Ball was delivered to Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” on the International Space Station by the US Dragon spacecraft launched on June 4, 2017, and is currently undergoing initial verification.
– The camera can move autonomously in space and record still and moving images under remote control by the JAXA Tsukuba Space Center.
– The recorded images and videos can be checked in real time by flight controllers and researchers on the ground, and then be fed back to the onboard crew.
– The camera adopts existing drone technology and its exterior and inner structures were all manufactured by 3D-printing. (read more)
