Robonaut 2 was the humanoid robot NASA used as a research platform aboard the ISS in 2011.
NASA and General Motors developed Robonaut 2, commonly called R2, to study how humanoid robots could assist astronauts and workers. Space Shuttle Discovery carried it to the International Space Station during mission STS-133, launched in February 2011.
R2 was designed with a humanlike upper body, arms, hands, cameras, and force sensors. Its early work inside the station focused on testing dexterity and safe operation in a human environment rather than independently performing complex missions.
Robonaut 2 is distinct from Kirobo, a small Japanese talking robot, and CIMON, a free-flying conversational assistant. It is also different from Astrobee, NASA’s later autonomous cube-shaped station robot.