Nichols Martin
NASA calls for the masses to submit ideas on autonomous robots that will help astronauts carry out long missions in the future. The space agency said Monday it will accept these ideas under the second phase of its Space Robotics Challenge, which aims to apply autonomous robotics to missions on the surfaces of distant space environments.
Sought autonomous robots will perform a mission’s tedious, repetitive tasks so that astronauts may focus on activities that require more accuracy. Participating teams from public, private and academic sectors will work to develop software and codes with the purpose of guiding virtual robots in a simulated Moon mission.
These platforms are intended to facilitate autonomous navigation and decision-making for lunar missions. After the second phase’s qualification round, NASA will divide $375K in prizes among the top 25 teams.
Interested participants may join the new competition round without prior involvement in phase 1, which concluded two years ago and sought technology for the R5 humanoid robot.
