Moonraker Robot from Paul’s Robotics to Compete in 2008 Regolith Excavation Challenge

PRLog (Press Release) - Jul 29, 2008 -
Worcester, MA - A unique robot, Moonraker, has been developed by Paul’s Robotics (http://www.paulsrobotics.com) to compete in the 2008 Regolith Excavation Challenge.  The event, held on the campus of California Polytechnic Institute, will serve as a proving ground for 21 teams from all over the United States who have been designing robots to autonomously navigate around a moon-like surface, collect lunar soil, known as regolith, and deliver it to a collection bin.

The event is part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges (http://centennialchallenges.nasa.gov/) program, which exists to help inspire innovative solutions to technical challenges in the aerospace industry.  At the start of the event, all teams will turn in their robots.  At that point, the final course is revealed including locations of rocks and the collection bin.  

Each team is given a 30-minute run on the course.  Each will be placed in a random square and heading at the start and be attached to a power cable.  Teams may place beacons around the collector to assist in robot navigation, but may give no other inputs to the robot about its location or the setup of the field.

In order to qualify to win one of the three monetary prizes, robots must move a minimum of 150 kg into the bin during their timed run.  They also cannot draw more than 150 watts on average over the course of their run and must employ only technology that could actually be used on the moon.   The maximum weight of any robot is 70 kg and it must fit within a 1.3 meter cylinder at the start of the match.

Moonraker is the entry for Paul’s Robotics, a group centered in Worcester, MA.  The team leader, Paul Ventimiglia, is a Robotics Engineering student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  His unique robot design is the product of several months of sleepless nights.  Rather than navigating around the course, collecting soil, and returning to the collector to dump the soil, Moonraker will navigate to the center of the course at the start of the match.  From there, it will unfurl a long series of conveyor belts which reach the collector while the robot remains stationary.  The digger is a continuously moving series of scoops.  The arm rotates slowly around the robot as it digs deeper and deeper into the regolith.

The Moonraker team has high hopes for their robot winning the top prize of $500,000 as they depart for the event held August 2-3rd, 2008 in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Moonraker Team Members include Paul Ventimiglia from Wayne, NJ, RBE Student at WPI; Colleen Shaver from Clinton, MA, Manager of Robotics Initiatives at WPI and Class of 2004; Brian Loveland from Auburn, MA, WPI Class of 2007; and Marc DeVidts from Miami, FL, Software Developer.

Moonraker is sponsored by the Ventimiglia Family, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (http://www.wpi.edu), Magmotor (http://www.magmotor.com), and Hydro-cutter (http://www.hydro-cutter.com).

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/10095923/1