CSCE Capstone

Student Site for Individual and Collaborative Activites

Team 17 – NASA Robotics Competition22

Team Members:

Jackson Burger

Rohit Kala

Justin Kilgo

Ahmed Moustafa

Jackson Newman

Project Summary:

At the current growth in population, we will soon exceed the planet’s non-renewable resource availability. This vast difference between demand and supply necessitates a new source for scarce minerals: space. As we explore the final frontier, we face a critical challenge: how to extract the minerals we need to sustain our civilization without destroying our planet. For these extraterrestrial mining expeditions, mankind must apply advanced technology to develop lunar robots to kickstart the era of space mining. The objective of this project is to engineer and program a robotic lunar excavator for the NASA Lunabotics competition that will maneuver through complex, rough terrain and mine regolith simulants. As the CSCE section of the NASA Robot Mining Competition Capstone team, our focus is on the software and computer system aspects of the project through simulation and physical testing to achieve semi-autonomous function. Our team will take a collaborative approach, leveraging the diverse skills and expertise of team members from multiple departments. We will use an agile development methodology to iteratively design, build, and test our excavator, and will use ROS 2 to integrate our software and hardware components. By using a combination of simulation and physical testing, we will optimize our robot’s performance and ensure that it meets the demands of the Lunabotics competition. A key aspect of the maneuverability of the robot is position-tracking which will use a combination of accelerometer measurements and camera object detection. With a dataset of possible field elements and regoliths, we may train a model using modern object detection libraries to facilitate autonomous navigation so the robot can safely mine. This project’s significance lies in both the direct cross-department learning opportunities as well as the general impact this field of technology will have on our planet’s future. Working in unison with the University of Arkansas’ Razorbotz team highlights the significance of multifaceted engineering projects and the breadth of knowledge required to reach an acceptable product. The robot and its programming we plan to produce are the foundation for future Lunar and Martian mining expeditions to help alleviate Earth’s resource exhaustion and environmental damage from current resource extraction.

Project Sponsor:

Uche Wejinya – Dr. Wejinya is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arkansas. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University in August 2007. Dr. Wejinya’s research relates to mechatronics with an emphasis on nanotechnology. His research delves into nanomaterials for nanosensors, nanoelectronics, and robotics.