NEWS
& EVENTS

April 23, 2008

Contact: Amy Hewes
College of Engineering
805-756-6402
ahewes@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly to Host Major NASA Competition: Participants Invited to Join

Anyone interested in designing a lunar backhoe?

The Cal Poly College of Engineering (CENG) has announced that it is partnering with Slobotics to enter the NASA’s Lunar Regolith Excavation Challenge. Students and community members interested in participating in this prestigious national competition are invited to join a Cal Poly / Slobotics team. The event will be hosted in the Engineering Plaza at Cal Poly on August 2-3.

Twenty Regolith teams from universities, the private sector and industry nationwide have registered. Winning teams will split $750,000 in prize money and have the chance to contribute to NASA’s final product: an excavator that will be used to establish a moonbase by 2020.

The challenge requires that teams build an autonomous robot that can excavate 330 pounds of lunar soil, called “regolith,” in 30 minutes and transport it to a collector box. Because solar energy on the moon is limited, the robot must be very efficient, operating with an average of less than 150 watts—about one cent worth of household electricity.

The Lunar Regolith Excavation Challenge is administered by the California Space Education and Workforce Institute and co-hosted by Cal Poly’s CENG and the California Space Authority.  “The Regolith Excavation Challenge promotes the development of new technologies to excavate lunar regolith,” explains Matt Everingham of the California Space Authority. “Advances in lunar regolith excavation have the potential to contribute significantly to the nation's space exploration operations.” 

Cal Poly / Slobotics team has already started developing its robotic excavator. “I'm excited about the progress we’ve made,” said Dr. Fred DePiero, Assistant Dean of Engineering and team advisor. “The lunar environment provides significant challenges, but I'm confident our innovative approach will give us an advantage.”

Slobotics, founded by Cal Poly students and alumni, aims to develop practical robotics applications. The group welcomes more expertise for the Regolith team, especially individuals with interest in programming, mechanical design, or robotics.

For more information about the Slobotics / Cal Poly Regolith Team contact Kyle Wiens at kyle@ifixit.com or Slobotics. The official site of the Lunar Regolith Excavation Challenge can be found at Regolith Challenge.