Floating blue-eyed robot keeps watch on the ISS: Space photo of the day

a black and white globe with blue lights surrounding two camera lenses floats inside a space station — JAXA's Internal Ball Camera-2 floats inside the Japan Experiment Module (JEM) aboard the International Space Station as it is tested for its ability to autonomously capture photos and video of the station's crew at work. (Image credit: JAXA/Takuya Onishi)

What's black and white and can see you when you float? Japan's Internal Ball Camera-2: an experimental free-flying robot designed to take photos and video of the astronauts onboard the International Space Station while they are going about their day-to-day activities.

Why is this amazing?

Who wouldn't want their own robotic photographer just hovering by waiting to capture your activities as you work in space?

Rather than have to spend time adjusting settings and re-positioning the camera so ground controllers can see what the astronauts are doing in orbit, the Internal Ball Camera-2 (or Int-Ball2) can automate that process, freeing the crew members to focus on their work.

How does it know where to go?

The Int-Ball2 is remotely operated by controllers with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Earth, but is also equipped with an Epson-designed inertial measurement unit (IMU) that when used in collaboration with a visual location and mapping system, enables the ball to maintain its orientation and navigate through the space station.

These onboard systems also allow Int-Ball2 to autonomously dock to its battery charging station.

a black and white orb with blue glowing lights around two camera lenses floats on a space station — With the lights dimmed inside the International Space Station's Kibo Japan experiment module, the "blue eyes" of the Internal Camera Ball-2 robot glow, allowing it to both navigate and capture imagery of the ISS crew. (Image credit: JAXA/Takuya Onishi)

Where can I learn more?

You can read about the first generation Int-Ball that was deployed in 2017.

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Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, a daily news publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018.In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History. In 2023, the National Space Club Florida Committee recognized Pearlman with the Kolcum News and Communications Award for excellence in telling the space story along the Space Coast and throughout the world.