Symbiotic Relationship of Man and Machine in Space Colonization.

It is vital that space colonies and settlements be able to maximize any possible advantages to improve survival of both man and machines. An array of human and machine solutions and operations can be utilized to not only enhance safety, but to also increase productivity. For many years robots have been simply a part of science fiction. Funding for robot technology and development is hard to acquire and to maintain. Robot technology needs to reach “critical mass” in order to break the barrier of acceptance from funding organizations. Other technologies have overcome this hurdle and, by learning from and building on their experiences, this will generate funding and acceptance to propel robot technology in support of space colonization to a much sooner reality. © 2007 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]