Abstract NASA Mining Robot

Undergraduate #99
Discipline: Technology and Engineering
Subcategory: Civil/Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering

Ryan Littlejohn - Virginia State University
Co-Author(s): Nasser Ghariban, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA

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It is predicted that autonomous technology will be incorporated into all motor vehicles by 2040. To achieve this goal the vehicles are needed to be enhanced in electronics components to be able to sense their environment and navigate on their own using obstacle detection sensors, GPS detection devices; as well as equipment to communicate with other vehicles through wireless data systems. This poster is presenting the adopting of students project to attract students to field of autonomous technology. The objective of the project is to promote collaboration of students with different engineering backgrounds to design an autonomous robot to fulfill the tasks outlined by NASA’s Robot Mining Competition. This competition is conducted by NASA annually university-level student teams to design, construct, and test a robot to simulate mining on the surface of Mars. The competition is planned to inspire students to use their innovative ideas to design an autonomous excavation robot which could be used to an actual excavation device or payload on Mars. The poster provides the details of the design of the robot which is capable of maneuvering around the obstacles on soil similar to Mars surface. Siemens PLM software was used for design, engineering analysis, and computer aided manufacturing of the robot.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): NASA and my mentors Nasser Ghariban and Ali Ansari

Faculty Advisor: Nasser Ghariban, NGhariban@vsu.edu

Role: Designing and manufacturing