Image Credits:<\/strong> Gitai<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

These are big steps for the seven-year-old startup, especially considering that the company\u2019s initial aim was not necessarily to go into the space market. Nakanose explained in a recent interview that when he founded the company, the space industry was the last market on his list. \u201cI was looking for more sound, practical opportunities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But he quickly realized that Earth-based robots have to overcome a major market challenge: human labor. \u201cIt is so difficult for robotic capacity to overcome human labor, especially in terms of the cost,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

The space industry, on the other hand, presents unique opportunities for robotics developers. Right now, the robotic arms attached to the ISS are expensive \u2014 the multi-phase program to develop a third-gen \u201cCanadarm\u201d robotic arm that\u2019s affixed to the outside of the ISS is valued at $1.2 billion. But astronaut labor isn\u2019t the answer, either: It\u2019s still very expensive, and dangerous, to send a single human to space, let alone sending them to conduct extravehicular activity outside the station.<\/p>\n

Private companies that are developing private space stations \u2014 which include Vast, Blue Origin, Voyager Space and Axiom Space \u2014 will also likely be looking for cheaper alternatives to the legacy robotics on the ISS. Gitai could fill this impending market need with its robotic arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile SpaceX and Blue Origin are reducing the cost of transportation to space by 100 times, we at Gitai are taking on the challenge of reducing labor costs by 100 times,\u201d Nakanose said. \u201cWe will provide the most labor for the moon and Mars and build infrastructure such as solar panels, communication antennas, fuel generators and habitation modules.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/br><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n