The original Canadarm was the robotic arm attached to the space shuttle, but to help with the space station assembly and maintenance Canadarm 2 (or more properly the Space Station Remote Manipulator System) was developed. At 17m long with 7 joints it moves equipment and supplies around the station, supports astronauts working in space, and services instruments and other payloads attached to the ISS. It is also responsible for capturing the free-flying space vehicles such as the SpaceX Dragon which want to dock to the Space Station.
Attached to the SSRMS is Dextre which allows robotic handling of tasks which used to require crew time and can be operated from the ground.
Kristen also educated the audience on the Next Generation Canadarm project and the test beds being used to test the functionality of the system, together with discussing the training that Astronauts need to go through to use the system. The finale of the talk covered Robotic Refuelling of on orbit satelittes and the complementary purposes that the robotic technology can be used for such as the NeuroArm, a MRI-compatible system that allows brain surgery with the patient in an MRI, or the use of robotics within Bruce Power, the worlds largest operating nuclear facility.
Altogether a fantastic talk and for those that missed it we have made available online via IET.tv: https://tv.theiet.org/?videoid=7022