Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Industry and Business News .




ROBO SPACE
Game on: European student codes reach ISS
by Staff Writers
Paris (ESA) Jan 18, 2013


European finalists.

Operating droids in space was no obstacle for a German-Italian alliance to reach the finish line of the Zero Robotics tournament. The European winners commanded mini-robots to dodge virtual dust clouds and rendezvous with disabled satellites, all in the weightlessness of the International Space Station.

This year's competition gave over 130 high-school students from across Europe the opportunity to operate droids in space by coding software.

Six alliances made of teams from Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal witnessed how their computer codes worked in the Space Station from ESA's ESTEC space research and technology centre in the Netherlands

The RetroSpheres space game involved two mini-robots racing through a course using the least amount of fuel. During the three-minute programmed dance, the volleyball-sized spheres moved using 12 squirts of compressed gas.

Competitors could collect extra fuel from decommissioned satellites and deorbit the satellites for extra points while navigating through their opponent's dust clouds.

"It is really special to see what these students have created and get to operate their algorithms in space," said NASA's Kevin Ford on the Station. The astronaut, together with crewmate Tom Marshburn, set up the matches from Japan's Kibo laboratory.

The team with the most fuel left over in the European finals was the BEER alliance - the Brotherhood of Esteemed European Researchers. German and Italian high-school students developed the software that calculated the winning path for their robot in an exciting final game that demonstrated Newton's laws of motion.

Robotic future
The challenge to control these robots remotely began in the United States, where an adventurous professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found inspiration from the Star Wars saga. The mini-spacecraft have been used on the Station since 2006 to try out manoeuvres.

ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers, who ran the competition from the Station last year, hosted the event from ESTEC. "Europe is embarking on robotic-related missions. Robots are and will be of great help in space," he noted.

Spacecraft fuel consumption - carbon dioxide in this case - was a programming issue for the students. "Most of us knew nothing about computer science before this competition. Teamwork and creative strategies helped us to succeed," explained Jaime Sevilla, one of the Spanish players.

Teachers were pleased to see their pupils learn to communicate with each other, gaining technical knowledge and boosting their enthusiasm.

.


Related Links
Zero Robotics website
All about the robots on Earth and beyond!






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








ROBO SPACE
Nexter joins robot development business
Versailles, France (UPI) Jan 16, 2013
Robots are playing critical roles on the battlefield and are growing in diversity, capability and manufacture. The United States has so far led the way in robotic technology and systems for ordnance detection and disposal, convoy vehicles and ground reconnaissance and surveillance for small infantry units. But others are getting in the game and now Nexter Systems, the French defe ... read more


ROBO SPACE
New surfaces repel most known liquids

Sustainable reinforcement for concrete has newly discovered benefits

ECAPS signs contract with Skybox for complete propulsion system

Boeing Grows Composite Manufacturing Capability in Utah

ROBO SPACE
NATO member orders Falcon III radios

Lockheed Martin Completes Work on US Navy's Second MUOS Satellite

Russia Set to Launch Three Military Satellites

TS Receives Funding For SNAP Deployable Satellite Systems Equipment

ROBO SPACE
Africasat-1a to launch on first Ariane 5 launch in 2013

Roscosmos Releases Report On Proton Launch Anomaly

Russia plans replacement for Soyuz rocket

Arianespace's industry leadership will continue with 12 launcher family missions planned in 2013

ROBO SPACE
China promotes Beidou technology on transport vehicles

New location system could compete with GPS

Beidou's unique services attractive to Chinese companies

China eyes greater market share for its GPS rival

ROBO SPACE
Rudra attack version for Aero India 2013

BAE extends pilot training deal in Papua

Boeing Offers New Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) Software for any EFB Hardware

FlySafe adds new dimension to safe flying

ROBO SPACE
Intel profits slide, outlook weak as woes continue

New biochip technology uses tiny whirlpools to corral microbes

Power spintronics: Producing AC voltages by manipulating magnetic fields

Researchers demonstrate record-setting p-type transistor

ROBO SPACE
Testing time for Proba-V, ESA's global vegetation tracker

MDA awarded contract to build three radar satellites

Raytheon's Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite on the Suomi NPP satellite lauded for "truly new" weather data

NASA Prepares for Launch of Next Earth Observation Satellite

ROBO SPACE
Rich countries reluctant to help finance mercury treaty

Factory smoke clouds China pollution pledges

Philippine gold mine to pay huge fine for spill

Soot is number two human cause of global warming: study




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement