{"id":2682,"date":"2013-06-09T15:19:15","date_gmt":"2013-06-09T15:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=2682"},"modified":"2013-06-09T15:23:20","modified_gmt":"2013-06-09T15:23:20","slug":"nasa-sample-return-robot-challenge-competition-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=2682","title":{"rendered":"NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge competition update"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>None of the robots fielded by 11 teams in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/directorates\/spacetech\/centennial_challenges\/sample_return_robot\/index.html\" target=\"_d\">NASA&#8217;s Sample Return Robot Challenge<\/a> completed the requirements to win the $1.5M competition in this years event, which was held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) June 5-7 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The goal is to &#8220;demonstrate a robot that can locate and collect samples from a wide and varied terrain, operating without human control.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There was, however, considerable improvement in overall performance as compared to the event last and one team did complete the first phase and received a $5k prize for that accomplishment.<\/p>\n<p>WPI is managing the contest, which has been held twice so far. There will be presumably be another competition event next year. Here are two WPI sites related to the challenge:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/wp.wpi.edu\/challenge\/\" target=\"_d\">Sample Return Robot Challenge &#8211; WPI\/NASA Centennial Challenge<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/wp.wpi.edu\/touchtomorrow\/\" target=\"_d\">TouchTomorrow at WPI<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a local article about the competition:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.telegram.com\/article\/20130608\/NEWS\/306089799\/1246\" target=\"_d\">Party at WPI &#8211; Worcester Telegram &amp; Gazette &#8211; telegram.com.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>And here is an official press release from NASA:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/directorates\/spacetech\/centennial_challenges\/sample_return_robot\/srr_results_2013.html\" target=\"_d\">NASA Awards Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge Prize<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s Centennial Challenges prize program.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s competition.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a title=\"Sample Return Robot Challenge (201306050010HQ) by NASA HQ PHOTO, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/nasahqphoto\/8963657057\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sample Return Robot Challenge (201306050010HQ)\" src=\"http:\/\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8411\/8963657057_89bb9708cc_n.jpg\" width=\"320\" height=\"197\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>A NASA 2013 Sample Return Robot Challenge staff member raises a pause <\/em><br \/>\n<em>flag as the AERO (Autonomous Exploration RObot) robot attempts level one of the <\/em><br \/>\n<em>challenge at Institute Park, Wednesday, June 5, 2013, Worcester Polytechnic<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass.<\/em><\/div>\n<p>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&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is evident from the level of improvements the teams have shown from last year&#8217;s event to this week&#8217;s Level 1 win that the technology has significantly progressed, and the desired results of this challenge are within reach,&#8221; said Sam Ortega, program manager of Centennial Challenges. &#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s mission by attracting interest and attention to a defined technical objective.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Team Survey&#8217;s robot successfully completed Level 1 by navigating from the starting platform and locating a sample that was previously identified in the robot&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>NASA&#8217;s Centennial Challenges program is part of the agency&#8217;s Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA&#8217;s future missions. For more information about the Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Centennial Challenges Program, visit:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/spacetech\">http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/spacetech<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>None of the robots fielded by 11 teams in NASA&#8217;s Sample Return Robot Challenge completed the requirements to win the $1.5M competition in this years event, which was held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) June 5-7 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The goal is to &#8220;demonstrate a robot that can locate and collect samples from a wide &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=2682\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge competition update<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16,22,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-contests-and-games","category-education","category-science-and-technology"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-Hg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3891,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=3891","url_meta":{"origin":2682,"position":0},"title":"2014 Sample Return Robot Challenge competition registration opens","author":"TopSpacer","date":"August 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA announces the next round of the Sample Return Robot Challenge competition, which is managed by Worcester Polytechnic Institute: The Challenge is On: NASA-WPI 2014 Robot Prize Competition Registration Open In pursuit of new technological solutions for America's space program and our nation's future, NASA and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contests and Games&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Contests and Games","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5855,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=5855","url_meta":{"origin":2682,"position":1},"title":"Sci-Tech: DARPA overview of Robotics Challenge Trials results","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"DARPA managers seem pleased with the first round of \u00a0The Robotics Challenge\u00a0(see also earlier post): After Impressive Demonstrations of Robot Skill, DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials Conclude 8 teams eligible to receive up to $1 million to prepare for upcoming DRC Finals\u00a0 On December 20-21, 2013, 16 teams were the main\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Science and Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Science and Technology","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/UUOIHBHRbvncMo7Bf0Vx1zEQ\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5796,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=5796","url_meta":{"origin":2682,"position":2},"title":"Sci-Tech: DARPA Robotics Challenge competition in Florida","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Trials\u00a0took place on Friday and Saturday at Florida\u2019s Homestead Miami Speedway. Seventeen teams participated in the competition: Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., prepared this past week for a competition unlike any it has ever seen: the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Trials. Instead of dozens of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Science and Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Science and Technology","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"DRC-Anatomy Robot Inline","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.darpa.mil\/uploadedImages\/Content\/NewsEvents\/Releases\/2013\/AnatomyofaRobotv4FINAL_500.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8900,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8900","url_meta":{"origin":2682,"position":3},"title":"NASA opens Mars Ascent Vehicle Challenge","author":"TopSpacer","date":"September 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A new NASA sponsored contest: NASA Opens Registration For Inaugural Mars Ascent Vehicle Challenge Registration is open for the 2015 NASA Centennial Challenges\u2019 Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) Prize, which will take place April 7-12, 2015. The competition carries a prize purse of $50,000 and will be held in Huntsville, Alabama,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contests and Games&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Contests and Games","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3330,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=3330","url_meta":{"origin":2682,"position":4},"title":"Sci-Tech: Update on DARPA Robotics Challenge","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest on the DARPA Robotics Challenge competition: DARPA\u2019s ATLAS Robot Unveiled Seven Track B\/C Teams to Train on the ATLAS Robot; Six Track A Teams Pass Critical Design Review of Robots to Advance to DRC Trials at the Homestead-Miami Speedway this December On Monday, July 8, 2013, the seven\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Science and Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Science and Technology","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/zkBnFPBV3f0\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2444,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=2444","url_meta":{"origin":2682,"position":5},"title":"Video: NASA Lunabotics Mining Competition at KSC","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA is holding the Lunabotics Mining Competition at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex this week. The Lunabotics Mining Competition is a university-level competition designed to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). There is particular relevance to NASA\u2019s recently announced mission to find an asteroid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contests and Games&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Contests and Games","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&l=ur2&o=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2682"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2684,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682\/revisions\/2684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}