It's (almost) alive: General Motors and NASA develop a humanlike robot for the International Space Station

General Motors and NASA have teamed up to develop Robonaut 2, which will be the first humanlike robot to take up permanent residence on the International Space Station.

Known as R2, the 300-pound robot will use its “hands” and “arms” to utilize the tools of the station. It will assist astronauts, which GM says has parallels with helping its workers in factories.

R2 will launch on space shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-133 mission this September. How the robot fares inside the station will provide insight into how robots might work with astronauts in the future. Ideally, these robots might stand in for astronauts during space walks.

While vibration, vacuum and radiation tests on R2 help prepare the robot for its upcoming flight, these procedures also help GM improve safety in its facilities.

“The work done by GM and NASA engineers also will help us validate manufacturing technologies that will improve the health and safety of our GM team members at our manufacturing plants throughout the world,” Alan Taub, vice president of GM's global research and development, said in a statement.

Taub noted that the testing R2 has undergone is comparable to the validation GM vehicles and components go through during production.

R2 will join another robot, built by the Canadian Space Agency, called Dextre, which will work on the outside of the space station. R2 is still a prototype and works only on the inside; it isn't yet capable of withstanding the harsh conditions outside the station. R2 will also be tested in weightless situations.

Chrysler also recently announced a three-year alliance with NASA.

By Izzi Bendall