Video: NASA's robo-glove lends astronauts a hand

NASA

When outside the International Space Station, NASA astronauts don't walk, rather they use their hands to climb. Moving around in a space suit can be tough so the engineers at NASA, in partnership with General Motors, developed the Human Grasp Assist Device, or Robo-glove.

"From NASA's prospective, space suits are like a pressure bubble that astronauts are trying to squeeze down and pull on every time they're doing an [extravehicular activity]," said Lyndon Bridgwater, Lead Mechanical Engineer for the project at the Johnson Space Center. In order to increase the astronauts' grip power, triggers in the glove sense when it needs to open and close.

"It's a robot on your hand," Bridgwater says.

While it will make repairs on the space station easier, NASA believes the device could also have applications on Earth as well.