“TO THE MOON” AND BACK WITH RIEGL USA, ALLEN & COMPANY, AND THE NASA LUNABOTICS CHALLENGE
“TO THE MOON” AND BACK WITH RIEGL USA, ALLEN & COMPANY, AND THE NASA LUNABOTICS CHALLENGE
Utilizing the RIEGL VZ-600i for data collection in a student robotics competition
RIEGL USA in collaboration with Allen & Company recently participated in the 2024 NASA Lunabotics Qualification Challenge hosted by the University of Central Florida that took place from May 10th-15th at the Exolith® Lab. The NASA Lunabotics Challenge is a cutting-edge event that brings together over 40 talented university teams from across the country to develop and deploy fully autonomous robots capable of utilizing lunar regolith, which is a loose layer of rock and dust sediment, in a simulated lunar environment. The RIEGL VZ-600i terrestrial laser scanner was utilized by both RIEGL USA and Allen & Company to scan piles of this fabricated “moon dirt” to showcase the success or failure of student robotics to transport the matter.
“The VZ-600i was the only scanner we have that is rugged enough to deliver in these conditions.” said Kyle Binni, Director of Sales and Business Development at Allen & Company. “The speed, accuracy and versatility exceeded expectations and delivered remarkable results.”
The goal in this project is for student contestant vehicles/lunabots to transport the moon dust/dirt particles to the square flagged off area. The RIEGL VZ-600i is collecting data to measure the quantity of moon particles successfully transported to the designated area. Judges from NASA are taking RIEGL data into account when qualifying the 10 teams that will advance to the final round at Kennedy Space Center at the end of the qualifying rounds.
“I’m speaking on behalf of NASA when I say that without RIEGL’s help here it’s very possible that we couldn’t have had a competition.” said Richard Johanboeke, Senior Project Manager at NASA. “With RIEGL’s LiDAR we’re now able to accurately measure the volumetric mass of the burns being built by the students, that way we can give them the most accurate score for placement and how they did on each run. The RIEGL team did very well here and we’re extremely happy with the results. Looking forward to working with RIEGL here for years to come!”
At the end of the qualifying rounds during the Lunabotics Challenge, RIEGL USA’s Tan Nguyen gave a presentation with Allen & Company to present the results and explain the data collection process with the RIEGL VZ-600i. This data was imperative in determining which teams progressed forward to the final round.
“We are very happy to see that the RIEGL VZ-600i can support unique applications such as the Lunabotics challenge competition.” said Tan Nguyen, RIEGL USA’s TLS Division Manager. “We hope to continue supporting the Lunabotics challenge in the future and play a crucial role in their research and development for space exploration and beyond.”
You can also read more on the Lunabotics Challenge and its impact to future NASA Artemis Mission Goals and its commitment to Science & Education here: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/05/19/commentary-returning-to-the-moon-requires-commitment-to-science-education-on-earth/
To watch videos from all three qualifying competition days at the NASA Lunabotics Challenge click the following link: UCF Lunabotics 2024 – YouTube
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