A Japanese start-up will test a robotic arm inside the International Space Station, or ISS, as early as next spring.

Tokyo-based GITAI developed the one-meter-long robotic arm that operates autonomously, but can also be controlled remotely from Earth.

GITAI says the robot will be installed inside the ISS and carry out experiments to demonstrate its capability in space.

The robot will conduct tasks such as pressing the switch on a mock panel and replacing cables. It will also assemble a solar panel, a task that requires a sequence of different motions.

Astronauts carry out various tasks during their stay on the ISS. The increased use of robotics will help to reduce costs.

GITAI says it will become the world’s first private company to conduct a technical demonstration of a space robot designed to carry out an astronaut’s tasks.

The firm’s CEO, Nakanose Sho, says he wants to develop high-performance robots to carry out tasks in space that are dangerous and costly.