Robotic Design Team
2018 Lunabotics Competition
The Team
The Robotic Design Team is a team of researchers and designers working together to make a rover each project year for the NASA Lunabotics Competition hosted at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral FL.
In this competition, a rover is made supported by a systems engineering paper all the while curating programs for youth to support them in being the next generation of engineers.
I've participated on this team from 2018 - 2022, starting out as a electrical engineering member in 2018-2019, then to the electrical engineering lead & outreach lead in 2019-2020, and team lead from 2020-2022. Being part of the team was a great experience getting to participate in all aspects from technical to project management.
The Robots
PIPER
Project Inter Planetary Excavation Rover
NASA Robotic Mining Competition 2021-2022
The PIPER rover was designed to be a compact and light mining rover for the NASA Robotic Mining Competition. Similar to the ORBIT designs, the rover had a drum at the center but at a higher height, and and can reach a theoretical mining rate of 1kg of BP-1 (Martian Regolith Simulant) per minute.
The inspiration for this design was taken from NASA's RASSOR design which can engage at multiple different heights by pivoting the arms attached to the wheels. This allowed for maximum depth efficiency without needing additional rover volume as the competition year decreased the volume limit. The design is a all-in-one excavation, storage, and deposition system that can hold 5kg of BP-1.
Due to COVID, we were unable to bring the rover to the competition site and test the design but won the innovation award for bringing a never seen design to the competition.
*Due to COVID a proof of life video was unable to be made*
Orbit 2
Operational Robot Built In Tandon
NASA Robotic Mining Competition 2019
The ORBIT 2 rover was designed to be a robust, high volume robotic miner for the NASA Robotic Mining Competition and an improvement of the ORBIT 1 design. It employs the same excavation method as ORBIT 1, and can reach a theoretical mining rate of 2kg of BP-1 (Martian Regolith Simulant) per minute.
Rather than a single system like ORBIT 1, ORBIT 2 is a two rover system which split the rover's system's main functions (excavation and regolith transportation) into separate robots.
ORBIT 2, while a unique concept and a theoretical improvment to the previous ORBIT 1 design, it was a very complex undertaking and was not fully finished before the 2019 competition. While all portions of the robot performed well individually, the interfaces between the rovers need to be improved for future use. Nevertheless, the team placed 3rd overall in the 2019 NASA Robotic Mining Competition.
ORBIT 1
Operational Robot Built In Tandon
NASA Robotic Mining Competition 2019
The ORBIT 1 rover was designed to be a robust, high volume robotic miner for the NASA Robotic Mining Competition. It employed an adjustable, central excavation drum, mounted on a carbon fiber frame, and can reach a theoretical mining rate of 2kg of BP-1 (Martian Regolith Simulant) per minute.
The concept of the effectiveness of a "digging wheel" has been proved by the previous Atlas series miners. The primary concept behind ORBIT 1's design is using a high torque, high speed central wheel to excavate and store collected regolith. The original intention behind the design of ORBIT 1 was the use of a dual rover system, where the ORBIT 1 rover would serve solely for excavation, while a secondary rover would transport excavated regolith from the mining site to the deposition type, hence the small carrying capacity of the rover (10kg).
ORBIT 1 proved an effective excavater during the 2018 NASA Robotic Mining Competition; however, it failed during the deposition portion of its run due to a mechanical failure in the deposition mechanism. Nevertheless, ORBIT 1 proves the strengths of a "mining wheel" compared to other, traditional mining mechanisms.