Her full name may be Artificial Intelligence Lightweight Android, but those who know her call her AILA. Her mission: to boldly go where no humanoid robot has gone before. AILA is one of many exhibits at CeBIT, the world's largest computer expo. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend through March 9 at the Hanover fairground.

Developed by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and the University of Bremen, AILA is designed to work alongside humans on the International Space Station, assisting with the tasks necessary to keep the station functioning. At 1.7 meters (5 feet, 7 inches) tall, she can both recognize her surroundings and interact with them using her two arms, doing things like pressing buttons and flipping switches just like a human. With all of her hardware and computing components integrated into her body, AILA can also be fully autonomous.

"She can actually feel her environment, so she can feel touch and forces that she exerts on the environment," says Dennis Mronga, a researcher at the Robotics Innovation Centre. "And this is why she's basically harmless.