Everyone knows about the DARPA Grand Challenge, right? But what about all that neat stuff that is sent up into space? Not surprisingly, it turns out that NASA has a smaller version more tailored to its needs.
Tomorrow, live from Santa Maria, Calif. (that's about 170 miles north of Los Angeles) is NASA's
2007 Regolith Excavation Challenge. The contest is to see which fully autonomous robot can move the most mock lunar dirt (at least 330 pounds worth) in 30 minutes, all with less than 30 kilowatts of power.
Assuming that teams actually finish (remember the first DARPA Grand Challenge didn't have a winner), the first place team will take home $150,000 in prize money.
So if you're in the neighborhood (show starts at 7 am) and want to stop by to snap a few photos, be sure and send them our way!
*Photo: **This two-conveyer belt robot is the creation of **The Lunar Miners, a team from the University of Missouri-Rolla. Credit: UMR. *
