“I can actually tell it where I want it to go,” explained engineering professor Giovanni Beltrame, demonstrating other robots he uses with his newly formed research unit.
This text is a translation of an article from CTV News.
The unit, called Astrolith, is developing a type of artificial intelligence that could one day help with lunar exploration.
Astrolith makes computers and software that can be adapted to various exploration devices such as drones and robots.
“We have many professors, 18 in fact, with varying levels of expertise to advance lunar engineering toward permanent colonization of the Moon and beyond,” Beltrame said.
The last time Americans put a space probe on the moon was in 1972.
But the race to explore the moon is gathering pace. Several countries, including Japan, have landed lunar modules this month.
Americans and Canadians will also take part in manned explorations over the next two years as part of the Artemis missions.
However, this time the scientific world has much more ambitious goals – and this is where the Polytechnique team comes into play.
“In the future, I would say in the near future, mining will play a role because it is very important to establish colonies on the moon, so you have to mine your own resources there,” Beltrame argued.
Astrolith's development technology could even change the way we use our own planet.
“It is also possible that mining in space is more beneficial than mining on Earth due to the environmental impact of mining here.”
The sensors developed are so advanced that cameras on robots can map their surroundings in three dimensions and react accordingly. Mr. Beltrame is surrounded by young master's and doctoral students who want to rediscover the lunar ambitions that inspired NASA in the 1960s.
“It would actually be my dream to live on the moon, but it's still a bit early for that. But we are working on it,” said Guillaume Ricard, member of Astrolith.
It's a new space age for a team looking to carve its own legend into the lunar surface.