The robotic arm on the Japanese Kibo module is the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System, or JEMRMS.
JEMRMS was developed by Japan’s space agency, JAXA, for work on Kibo’s Exposed Facility, the outdoor research platform attached to the pressurized laboratory. Astronauts use it to move experiments and hardware between the logistics section and external attachment points, where payloads are exposed to space.
The system is more than one simple arm. It includes a Main Arm and a smaller Small Fine Arm. The Main Arm performs larger positioning tasks, while the Small Fine Arm can be attached at its tip for more delicate operations, including handling replacement units. Operators control it from a console inside Kibo’s pressurized module using camera views.
JEMRMS is often confused with Canadarm2, the larger Canadian robotic arm that travels along the station’s main truss and services visiting spacecraft. Dextre is different again: it is a two-armed maintenance robot designed for delicate external tasks, not Kibo’s dedicated manipulator.