[Mars-discuss] [Fwd: [SEDSexec] Fwd: FW: NASA Announces Telerobotic Construction Competition]

[Joseph E. Palaia, IV]

Hello Ryan,

Thanks. Yes we did see that already. And yes we did find it of interest.

Thanks again.

Joe

---------------------------------
Joseph E. Palaia, IV
The Mars Homestead Project
To Arrive, Survive & Thrive!
www.MarsHome.org

-----Original Message-----
From: mars-discuss-bounces at MIT.EDU [mailto:mars-discuss-bounces at MIT.EDU] On
Behalf Of Ryan McLinko
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 5:06 PM
To: mars-discuss at MIT.EDU
Subject: [Mars-discuss] [Fwd: [SEDSexec] Fwd: FW: NASA Announces Telerobotic
Construction Competition]


I know someone associated with Mars Homestead was working on something 
like this and would probably find this of interest.

 - Ryan

-----Original Message-----
From: NASA News [mailto: hqnews at mediaservices.nasa.gov 
<mailto:hqnews at mediaservices.nasa.gov>]
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 8:21 AM
To: NASA News
Subject: NASA Announces Telerobotic Construction Competition

Dec. 2, 2005

Dolores Beasley/Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
(202) 358-1753/1272

Marc Schwager
The Spaceward Foundation, Mountain View, Calif.
(650) 969-2010

RELEASE: 05-417

NASA ANNOUNCES TELEROBOTIC CONSTRUCTION COMPETITION

NASA's Centennial Challenges program office, in collaboration with the
Spaceward Foundation, Mountain View, Calif., announced the new
Telerobotic Construction Challenge. The competition awards $250,000
to teams to develop technologies enabling robots to perform complex
tasks with minimal human intervention.

"The Telerobotic Challenge may directly affect how exploration is
conducted on the moon," said NASA's Associate Administrator for the
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, Scott Horowitz. "If the
Challenge can successfully demonstrate the remote assembly of simple
and complex structures, many aspects of exploration in general will
be affected for the better."

This Challenge will be conducted in an arena containing scattered
structural building blocks. The task is to assemble the structure
using multiple robotic agents remotely controlled by humans. The
operators may only see and talk to the robots through communications'
equipment that simulates Earth-moon time delays and restrictions. The
robots must be smart enough to work together with only intermittent
human direction to be successful.

"The Telerobotic Construction Challenge is directly linked to NASA's
focus on lunar exploration," said Brant Sponberg, NASA's Centennial
Challenges program manager. "Spaceward has shown their capability to
conduct a successful prize competition, and we look to them to help
advance this new technology."

NASA's Centennial Challenges promotes technical innovation through a
novel program of prize competitions. It is designed to tap the
nation's ingenuity to make revolutionary advances to support the
Vision for Space Exploration and agency goals. The Exploration
Systems Mission Directorate manages the program.

"Spaceward is pleased to expand on our prior collaboration with NASA
to conduct this competition," said Spaceward President, Metzada
Shelef. "Because of the high degree of student interest in robotics,
it is a great fit with our mission to advance space science and
technology in educational curriculums."

The competition takes place over two years, the first in August 2007.
Competition rules will be finalized in early 2006. For information
about Centennial Challenges on the Web, visit:

http://centennialchallenges.nasa.gov

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home

Spaceward is a non-profit corporation dedicated to furthering space
science and technology through education and engineering
competitions. For information about the Spaceward Foundation on the
Web, visit:

http://www.spaceward.org


-end-



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