06.08.13
A NASA Centennial Challenges first prize, level one, check is presented
to team Survey for successfully completing level one of the NASA 2013
Sample Return Robot Challenge. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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Members of team Survey pose with officials from NASA’s Sample Return Robot. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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The AERO (Autonomous Exploration RObot) robot attempts level one of the NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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After two days of extensive competition, Team Survey of Los Angeles was
awarded $5,000 in prize money after successfully completing Level 1 of
the Sample Return Robot Challenge, a part of NASA's Centennial
Challenges prize program.
The event, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) June 5-7 in Worcester, Mass., drew robotics teams from the United States, Canada and Estonia to compete for a total of $1.5 million in NASA prize money. Eleven teams arrived to compete at WPI; 10 teams passed the initial inspection and took to the challenge field. After two rounds of Level 1 competition, Team Survey met the $5,000 prize requirements and was declared the winner of this year's competition.
Team Survey members Jascha Little, Russel Howe, Zac Lizer, Tommy Smith, Zoe Stephenson, Scott Little, Brandon Booth, and Joanna Balme, all from Los Angeles, were presented a check June 8 by NASA's Larry Cooper, Centennial Challenges program executive, at the opening of the TouchTomorrow technology festival. A WPI organized science and robotics festival attracted thousands of attendees, showcasing the teams and robots as well as NASA and WPI exhibits in science, robotics and space technology.
"It is evident from the level of improvements the teams have shown from last year's event to this week's Level 1 win that the technology has significantly progressed, and the desired results of this challenge are within reach," said Sam Ortega, program manager of Centennial Challenges. "We are so proud of the great spirit and camaraderie the teams have shown, as well. It speaks volumes about the caliber of teams and individuals who compete in these events."
NASA uses prize competitions to increase the number and diversity of the individuals, organizations and teams that are addressing a particular problem or challenge. Prize competitions stimulate private sector investment that is many times greater than the cash value of the prize and further NASA's mission by attracting interest and attention to a defined technical objective.
To win prize dollars, teams were required to demonstrate a robot that can locate and collect samples from a wide and varied terrain, operating without human control. The objective of the challenge was to encourage innovations in autonomous navigation and robotics technologies.
Team Survey's robot successfully completed Level 1 by navigating from the starting platform and locating a sample that was previously identified in the robot's onboard computer. The robot then autonomously returned one undamaged sample to its starting platform within the 30-minute time limit. No teams made it to the second level of the competition this year.
Returning teams this year included SpacePRIDE of Graniteville, S.C.; Survey of Los Angeles; Wunderkammer of Topanga, Calif.; Intrepid of Lynnwood, Wash.; and the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. New teams entering the competition this year were Fetch of Alexandria, Va.; Middleman of Dunedin, Fla.; Mystic Lake Robots of The Woodlands, Texas; Team AERO of Worcester, Mass.; the Autonomous Rover Team of the University of California at Santa Cruz; and Kuukuglur of Estonia.
NASA's Centennial Challenges program is part of the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. For more information about the Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Centennial Challenges Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech
The event, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) June 5-7 in Worcester, Mass., drew robotics teams from the United States, Canada and Estonia to compete for a total of $1.5 million in NASA prize money. Eleven teams arrived to compete at WPI; 10 teams passed the initial inspection and took to the challenge field. After two rounds of Level 1 competition, Team Survey met the $5,000 prize requirements and was declared the winner of this year's competition.
Team Survey members Jascha Little, Russel Howe, Zac Lizer, Tommy Smith, Zoe Stephenson, Scott Little, Brandon Booth, and Joanna Balme, all from Los Angeles, were presented a check June 8 by NASA's Larry Cooper, Centennial Challenges program executive, at the opening of the TouchTomorrow technology festival. A WPI organized science and robotics festival attracted thousands of attendees, showcasing the teams and robots as well as NASA and WPI exhibits in science, robotics and space technology.
"It is evident from the level of improvements the teams have shown from last year's event to this week's Level 1 win that the technology has significantly progressed, and the desired results of this challenge are within reach," said Sam Ortega, program manager of Centennial Challenges. "We are so proud of the great spirit and camaraderie the teams have shown, as well. It speaks volumes about the caliber of teams and individuals who compete in these events."
NASA uses prize competitions to increase the number and diversity of the individuals, organizations and teams that are addressing a particular problem or challenge. Prize competitions stimulate private sector investment that is many times greater than the cash value of the prize and further NASA's mission by attracting interest and attention to a defined technical objective.
To win prize dollars, teams were required to demonstrate a robot that can locate and collect samples from a wide and varied terrain, operating without human control. The objective of the challenge was to encourage innovations in autonomous navigation and robotics technologies.
Team Survey's robot successfully completed Level 1 by navigating from the starting platform and locating a sample that was previously identified in the robot's onboard computer. The robot then autonomously returned one undamaged sample to its starting platform within the 30-minute time limit. No teams made it to the second level of the competition this year.
Returning teams this year included SpacePRIDE of Graniteville, S.C.; Survey of Los Angeles; Wunderkammer of Topanga, Calif.; Intrepid of Lynnwood, Wash.; and the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. New teams entering the competition this year were Fetch of Alexandria, Va.; Middleman of Dunedin, Fla.; Mystic Lake Robots of The Woodlands, Texas; Team AERO of Worcester, Mass.; the Autonomous Rover Team of the University of California at Santa Cruz; and Kuukuglur of Estonia.
NASA's Centennial Challenges program is part of the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. For more information about the Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Centennial Challenges Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech
Media Contact:
Janet Anderson, 256-544-0034
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
janet.l.anderson@nasa.gov
Janet Anderson, 256-544-0034
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
janet.l.anderson@nasa.gov
WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected 65 graduate students as the 2013 class of Space Technology Research Fellows.
This third class of space technology graduate students will conduct research relevant to agency technology challenges aligned with NASA's space technology roadmaps, while pursuing degrees in related disciplines at their respective institutions.
"NASA's space technology development and innovation pipeline sees a natural on-ramp for new ideas coming from America's graduate researcher community," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington. "By partnering with and investing in America's brightest minds, we are guaranteeing a great future for NASA and the nation. These technology research efforts will bolster America's competitiveness in a knowledge-based, global technology economy while enabling our space exploration goals."
The fellows conduct innovative space technology research on their respective campuses, at NASA centers, and at nonprofit U.S. research and development laboratories.
The fellowships and research activities are part of a renewed emphasis by NASA on technology. The program also is designed to inspire the nation's students and contribute to an innovation-driven economy. For a list of fellowship recipients, their respective research institutions and research topics, visit:
This third class of space technology graduate students will conduct research relevant to agency technology challenges aligned with NASA's space technology roadmaps, while pursuing degrees in related disciplines at their respective institutions.
"NASA's space technology development and innovation pipeline sees a natural on-ramp for new ideas coming from America's graduate researcher community," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington. "By partnering with and investing in America's brightest minds, we are guaranteeing a great future for NASA and the nation. These technology research efforts will bolster America's competitiveness in a knowledge-based, global technology economy while enabling our space exploration goals."
The fellows conduct innovative space technology research on their respective campuses, at NASA centers, and at nonprofit U.S. research and development laboratories.
The fellowships and research activities are part of a renewed emphasis by NASA on technology. The program also is designed to inspire the nation's students and contribute to an innovation-driven economy. For a list of fellowship recipients, their respective research institutions and research topics, visit:
NASA's Space Technology Research Grants Program challenges academia to examine the theoretical feasibility of ideas and approaches that are critical to making science, space travel and exploration more effective, affordable and sustainable. The program is part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is dedicated to innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions.
For more information about NASA's investment in space technology, visit:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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