Sunday, October 18, 2009

Paul’s Robotics Regolith Excavation Challenge 2009 winner


Paul’s Robotics Regolith Excavation Challenge 2009 winner



DIGGING TEAMS CLAIM VICTORY IN REGOLITH COMPETITION
Paul’s Robotics Finishes with $500,000 in their Pocket NASA’s Largest Cash Prizes Ever Handed Out

Nineteen teams pushed their robotic competitors to the limit and three
teams claimed a total of $750,000 in NASA prizes for their hard work and innovation at this year's Regolith Excavation Challenge held at NASA's Ames Research Center on Moffett Field.
After two days of intense competitive drama, organizers conferred Paul’s Robotics of Worcester,MA, with the first place title, second went to Terra Engineering of Gardena, CA, and Team Braundo of Rancho Palos Verde, CA, took home third.
This is the first time in the competition's three-year history that any teams qualified for a cash prize, the largest NASA has ever given. Announcing the awards and handing over the cash prizes were Lynn Baroff, Executive Director of the California Space Education and Workforce Institute (CSEWI), Andrea Seastrand, Executive Director of the California Space Authority (CSA), and Andrew Petro, Program Executive for the NASA Innovation Incubator and
Centennial Challenges.

The winning excavator lifted 965 pounds of regolith material in the allotted time. Runners up excavated 595 pounds and 580 pounds, respectively. Special mention goes to Team E-REX and Eric Jones of Little Rock, AR for transferring the most regolith, 165 pounds, in a single deposit of simulated lunar substance into the official collector bin.

Competitors were required to use mobile, robotic digging machines capable of excavating up to at least 330 pounds of regolith and depositing it into a container in 30 minutes or less. The rules require the remote controlled vehicles to contain their own power sources and weigh no more than 176 pounds.
The team Paul's Robotics has worked on many robots for a variety of competitions and real-life challenges. “We expected the huge dust plume that was created by our excavator, but managed operations anyway,” stated Paul Ventimiglia, the leader of the team and a tenured Battlebots participant. “What we didn’t expect were the last minute design alterations we were forced to employ.

Space Prizes
http://www.bigfatprize.com

Links
http://www.californiaspaceauthority.org/html/regolith2009.html

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