ROBOTIC MINING COMPETITION

Kennedy Space Center

Visitor Complex, Florida

May 18 – 22, 2015

ROBOTS vs. HUMANS

• Mars voyage is an 8–10 month

voyage & radiation shower

• Space Weather, Galactic Cosmic

Rays (GCR), Solar Energetic

Particles (SEP)

• Air, Water, Food, Shelter

• Abrasive Regolith

• Temperature, Variable /

Reduced Gravity

• Mining Hazards, Work Hours

• Morale, Mental Health, Return

to Earth

https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=L53u_-22sXU

Shelter

Air

Water

Fuel

Heating the regolith to just its melting point (1350°C) makes it stick together

Undergraduate and graduate student

teams enrolled in a U.S. college or

university.

Teams should have a sufficient

number of members to

successfully operate their mining robot.

WHO CAN COMPETE

It is a remote-operated or autonomous

robotic excavator

Include mechanical and electrical

equipment, batteries, gases, fluids and

consumables

Robot can separate (think “Swarmies” /

“Ants” - mass & dimensions of the whole

system must comply with the volumetric

dimensions as a single robotic mining

system

WHAT IS A MINING ROBOT?

• Maximum Mass

80 kilograms

• Maximum Dimensions

Length 1.5 meters, Width 0.75

meter, Height 0.75 meter

• May deploy or extend beyond the

footprint above, but not exceed

1.5 meters in height & volumetric

mass listed above

WHAT IS A MINING ROBOT?

Traverse Martian chaotic terrain, excavate,

return and deposit the regolith into the

collector bin within 10 minutes and

be the most effective at:

• autonomy

• dust tolerance & projection

• communications & energy/power

• vehicle mass and size limitations

• abrasive basaltic regolith simulant

ROBOTIC COMPETITION MINING

CHALLENGES

THE COMPETITION

REQUIRED

• ON-SITE MINING

• SYSTEMS ENGINEERING PAPER

• OUTREACH PROJECTT

OPTIONAL

• SLIDE PRESENTATION

• TEAM SPIRIT

REQUIRED + OPTIONAL

THE JOE KOSMO AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

THE AWARDS

• ON-SITE MINING - $3,000, $2,000, $1,000 &

Launch Invitations

• SYSTEMS ENGINEERING PAPER - $500

• OUTREACH PROJECT- $500

• SLIDE PRESENTATION - $500

• TEAM SPIRIT - $500

• JUDGE’S INNOVATION - Trophy

THE AWARDS

• EFFICIENT USE OF COMMUNICATIONS

and POWER - Trophy

• THE CATERPILLAR AUTONOMY

AWARD - $1,500, $750, $250

Awarded to teams who have earned the

first, second and third most

Autonomous Operation

points averaged from

both attempts.

THE AWARDS

THE JOE KOSMO

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

The teams that can use telerobotic or

autonomous operation to excavate the basaltic

regolith simulant, Black Point-1 and score the

most points wins the Joe Kosmo Award for

Excellence.

KSC Launch Invitations

Team Plaques

Team Trophy

$5,000

TEAM FUNDING

Estimate $20,000 for materials, testing,

shipping, travel, etc.

Teams are encouraged to

request funds from:

• Private Industry, Colleges,

• Universities, Engineering Associations

• Crowdfunding (ex: Kickstarter,

Companisto, Indiegogo, FundAnything,

Brainpool, etc.)

COLLEGE RECRUITMENT FAIR

• High School Sophmors,

Juniors & Seniors

• Seventeen (17) Colleges & Universities

• Over Two-Hundred (200) Students

Attended

• Ten (10) Students Won $500 Scholarships

COLLEGE RECRUITMENT FAIR

The disciplines represented by the

NASA KSC Subject Matter Experts

Aerospace

Chemical Engineering

Civil Engineering

Computer Engineering

Electrical Engineering

Industrial Engineering

Information Technology

Life Sciences (Biology)

Mechanical Engineering

Robotic Engineering

Structural Engineering

COLLEGE RECRUITMENT FAIR

• Bethune-Cookman University

• Daytona State College

• Eastern Florida State College

• Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

• Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University

• Florida Institute of Technology

• Florida Polytechnic University

• Florida Space Grant Consortium

• Florida Tech

COLLEGE RECRUITMENT FAIR

• Georgia Institute of Technology

• KSC Pathways Program

• South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

• University of Akron

• University of Alabama

• University of Central Florida

• University of South Florida

• West Virginia University

COMPETITORS FOR 2015

53 - Teams

28 - States & Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico

14 - Minority Serving Institutions

(MSI’s) (26%)

2 - 2-Year Community Colleges

2 - Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico

1 - Alaska Four-9

1 - Hawaii Five-0

THE MSI’s AANAPISI

AIANSI

HBCU

HSI

PBI

School MSI State SG Region

College of DuPage AANAPISI IL GMW

Oakton Community College AANAPISI IL GMW

University of Illinois at Chicago AANAPISI IL GMW

New York University AANAPISI NY NE

University of Hawaii - Hilo AANAPISI HI W

University of Arkansas AIANSI AR SE

University of Alaska Fairbanks AIANSI AK W

Virginia State University HBCU VA MA

Florida International University HSI FL SE

Inter American University of Puerto Rico HSI PR SE

Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico HSI PR SE

Texas A&M Corpus Chisti HSI TX W

Texas A&M International University HSI TX W

York College CUNY PBI NY NE

American Indian Alaska Native Serving Institution

Hispanic Serving Institution

Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution

Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Predominately Black Institutions

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW

MORE?

LOOK UP

NASA Robotic Mining

Competition

MINING ARENA

CATERPILLAR ARENA “B”

Competition Arenas & RoboPits

. . . are exploring Earth today

The Astronauts who will explore Mars

tomorrow …

Gloria Murphy Project Consultant Emeritus

Bethanne´ Hull BETHANNE.HULL@NASA.GOV

Project Coordinator

Rich Johanboeke RICHARD.M.JOHANBOEKE@NASA.GOV

Project Manager

QUESTIONS

https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=vkIuOMes1aY

RoboPits

RoboPits & Competition Arenas

THE TEAMS

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Auburn University

The University of Alabama

University of South Alabama

John Brown University

University of Arkansas

Colorado School of Mines

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Florida Institute of Technology

Florida International University

University of Central Florida

University of Florida

University of Miami

University of North Florida

THE TEAMS University of Hawaii - Hilo

Iowa State University

University of Iowa

College of DuPage

Oakton Community College

University of Illinois at Chicago

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Purdue University

Merrimack College

University of Michigan

Missouri University of Science and

Technology

Washington University in St. Louis

THE TEAMS

Mississippi State University

Montana State University

Montana Tech

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

University of North Dakota

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

University of New Hampshire

New York University

York College CUNY

Case Western Reserve University

Kent State University

The University of Akron

Wright State University

University of Portland

THE TEAMS

Temple University

Inter American University of Puerto Rico

Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico

South Dakota School of Mines and

Technology

Texas A&M International University

Texas A&M Corpus Christi

University of North Texas

University of Utah

University of Virginia

Virginia State University

Virginia Tech

University of Vermont CEMS

Milwaukee School of Engineering

PROOF OF CONCEPT

PROOF OF CONCEPT

PROOF OF CONCEPT