Post on 27-May-2018
Moon Rover Bot design brief.
Background
There are many applications where a Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV) or Robots are used in dangerous or inaccessible environments to carry out important tasks. They have been used on the moon, on Mars and for bomb disposal. Tasks could include negotiating obstacles, inspection, remote
tooling, sorting, picking and placing, segregating and resizing. Space exploration will almost certainly require 3D printed components made and assembled by Robots in space. You are asked to help in developing prototypes for this mission.
Brief:
Your team are tasked to design and make a prototype Moon Rover Bot to perform a set range of
tasks. You will be given a budget of £500 and your team will mentored by engineering experts. A simulated moon surface has been designed by BEC Fab Lab and you will be given a scale plan and photographs of this. The competition will be judged at the competition judging event at the Lakes
College on Thursday 27th February. You will be able to choose a business to work with your team at the launch and mentoring event on Tuesday 7th October.
Your Robot will be marked against a scoring schedule (below) and the winner will be the team with the highest score. In the event of a draw time taken to negotiate the course will be taken into
account and will decide the winner. Time to complete the course will be limited to 5 minutes per team.
It is expected that you will use off the shelf components and control equipment however credit will be given for teams that show a high level of innovation, in-‐ house design and manufacture. Lap tops,
tablets, phones, radio transmitters etc. will be classed as borrowed and will not be included in your budget.
BEC Fab Lab and your mentor business can offer the use of their equipment to aid manufacture. For example 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC machining but it is expected that the work will largely be
you own. (Bare in mind 3D printing large objects is expensive.) There is a list of Fab Lab equipment at www.becfablab.org.
Your Robot will:
1. Be in view throughout but controlled remotely from behind a start and finish line specified on the layout plan.
2. Have to stay within the designated 3mx3m flat floor area (marked out with masking tape.)
3. Pick up 3D printed space station building blocks held in a 250mmx250mmx40mm high open
top plywood container and lay the first 3 foundation blocks of a moon building. 4. Unload the building blocks from the container and lay three foundation blocks in the marked
area.
5. Move back to the start/finish line with the rock negotiating around, or over the’ moon craters’.
Project management:
Your team will have to provide:
1. A plan of how you managed your time between launch and final judging.
2. Supporting sketches, drawings, circuit diagrams and design details. 3. Evidence of budgeting and costs. 4. A short progress report to the project co-‐ordinator by Friday 14th November and another by
Friday 16th January.
Marking scheme:
The following criteria will be used to determine the winner:
1. Fitness for purpose (50%) a) Remote control (15%) b) Collecting, segregate and returning moon rock (20%)
c) Travel within the designated area, negotiating the craters and crossing the finish line (15%)
2. Innovation, quality of design and manufacture (25%)
3. Project management (25%)
a) Time management (5%)
b) Supporting sketches, drawings, circuit diagrams and design details. (10%) c) Evidence of budgeting and costs management. (5%) d) Progress reports (5%)
Judging:
There will be a panel of three independent judges with world class expertise in ROV’s who will score
the event. Their decision will be final.
Prize:
The winning team will have the opportunity to talk by radio to astronauts on the European Space Station. There will be an exciting surprise team prize also.