Hardware Podcasts

Episode 146: Embodied AI on the ISS - Jamie Palmer

Robot Talk · 27 Feb 2026 · 24m · Episode 146

What this episode covers

Jamie Palmer, co-founder and CTO of Icarus Robotics, explains how his company is building free-flying dexterous mobile robots to perform routine and risky tasks in low Earth orbit, starting with the ISS. Palmer details the engineering challenges of controlling a 20-degree-of-freedom robotic arm in microgravity, where moving an arm creates equal reaction forces that destabilize the base, requiring advanced flight control similar to underwater robotics. He highlights the role of recent AI breakthroughs, such as Google's RT-2 and Open X Embodiment, in enabling general-purpose manipulation models trained on teleoperation data, and outlines the company's path from remote testing to a 2027 mission with Voyager Space.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Icarus Robotics, NASA, Voyager Space, Boston Dynamics
Products
Google RT-2, Open X Embodiment, Open Teleoperation, Pi 0, Astro B

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