Moonraker Robot from Paul’s Robotics to Compete in 2009 Regolith Excavation Challenge

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 27, 2009 -
A new robot, Moonraker, is being developed by Paul’s Robotics (http://www.paulsrobotics.com) to compete in the 2009 Regolith Excavation Challenge.  The event, held at NASA Ames, will serve as a proving ground for teams from all over the United States who have been designing robots to 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.  Teams may place beacons in their starting area to assist in the autonomous navigation of the robot.  Teams may choose to provide input to the robot through custom-programmed interfaces, however they can only be operated through a delayed wireless connection and from a separate room.

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.  You must do this under battery operation, with a robot under 80 kg, and must employ only technology that could be used on the moon.   The robot 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 robot design, construction, and programming is the product of several months of sleepless nights by his team.  The robot consists of a large series of scoops which constantly rotate to collect the lunar soil, dumping it in a bin contained on the robot throughout this collection process.  Once the bin is full, the team navigates the robot to the collection bin and deposits the regolith by raising the collector arm.

The Moonraker team has high hopes for their robot winning the top prize of $500,000 at the event to be held October 17-18, 2009 in Moffett Field, CA.

Moonraker Team Members include Paul Ventimiglia from Wayne, NJ, RBE Student at WPI; Mike Ciaraldi from Worcester, MA, Professor of Practice at WPI; Colleen Shaver from Worcester, MA, Manager of Robotics Initiatives at WPI and Class of 2004; Brian Loveland from Framingham, MA, WPI Class of 2007; Jennifer Flynn from Worcester, MA, WPI Class of 2004; and Marc DeVidts from Miami, FL, Software Developer.

Moonraker is sponsored primarily by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (http://www.wpi.edu).  The team has also received support from local companies Barnstorm Cycles (http://www.barnstorm.us), and Hydro-cutter (http://www.hydro-cutter.com).