At the autonomous robot competition held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass., teams must demonstrate their robot can locate and collect geologic samples from a large and varied landscape, without human control, through two levels of competition that grow in complexity. The objective is to encourage innovations in autonomous navigation and robotic manipulation technologies. These innovations may enhance NASA's space exploration capabilities and could have applications on Earth, continuing the nation's leadership in robotic technology.
"With missions to other planets and deeper space in our sights, it is increasingly valuable and necessary to see these technologies through," said Sam Ortega, program manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala, according to a press release. "Robots are our pioneers, and solving this challenge will be a breakthrough for future space exploration."
NASA awarded $5,000 for Level 1 challenge completion to Team Survey of Los Angeles in 2013 and the West Virginia Mountaineers of Morgantown in 2014. Both teams are eligible to begin the 2015 competition at Level 2.
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Other returning teams are:
Formicarum of Worcester, Massachusetts
Gather of Alexandria, Virginia
Lunambotics of Mexico City
Middleman of Dunedin, Florida
Oregon State University of Corvallis
The Retrievers of Schenectady, New York
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rock Raiders of Troy, New York
Wunderkammer of Topanga, California
The new teams are:
Army of Angry Robots of Silicon Valley, California
DT Bozzelli of Ann Arbor, Michigan
MAXed OUT of San Jose, California
Mind and Iron of Needham, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Robotics Team of Cambridge
RoboRetrievers of Tampa, Florida
Sirius of South Hadley, Massachusetts
Smart Move of Clearwater, Florida
Smart Tools of Gurnee, Illinois
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Sample Return Robot Challenge is managed by NASA's Centennial Challenges program, which falls under the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) in Washington.
