Astronauts get an AI passenger with Callisto

The Future. Amazon, Cisco, and Lockheed Martin have jointly developed an AI-powered voice-command and videoconferencing system, dubbed “Callisto,” that can be used inside capsules during deep space exploration. The goal is to make the lives of astronauts easier and more connected when they’re miles away from Earth. If Callisto passes its first test flight next week, space may get a little less lonely.

Amazon HAL
Per Fast Company, three of the largest companies on Earth collaborated on an out-this-world AI assistant.

• Callisto gives astronauts an in-flight assistant for daily tasks and an upgraded way to communicate with people back home.
• The device was built by Lockheed Martin and includes Cisco’s Webex video conferencing system and Amazon’s Alexa AI.
• Callisto will be tested for the first time on NASA’s upcoming human-less Artemis flight (the device was named after a nymph that helped the Greek god Artemis) that launches next week for a 42-day mission around the moon and back.

For those with an Alexa device at home, you can follow the mission’s progress by saying, “Alexa, take me to the moon.” Maybe one day, astronauts will be hosting their own AMAs from the dark side of the moon.