University Rover Challenge
Equipment Servicing
Duration: 20-45 mins
Disciplines: Robotics, Communications
It is vital to us that our rover will be able to help us fix and secure items that are out of our reach, but is in its own reach. In this mission, the rover will be required to perform several operations on a mock-up equipment system. This mission involves delivering a cached science sample to a lander and performing maintenance on a built lander. The different kinds of operations include: putting a cache container inside a drawer while using a hex drawer to secure the drawer after, undoing latches, typing commands on a keyboard, and operating a joystick.
Science Mission
Duration: 30-60 mins
Disciplines: Robotics, Geology, Astrobiology, Communications
Our journey throughout the solar system has lead us to the question: is there life somewhere else other than on Earth? In this particular mission, our rover will be investigating multiple sites of mineralogical and biological interest for the detection of life. With an on-board rover instrument, we will test whether it is then extinct or extant.
Autonomous Navigation
Duration: 30-45 mins
Disciplines: AI, Computer Vision, Robotics, Communications
To reduce the need for full tele-operation, rovers are acquiring autonomy in order to execute their tasks on the foreign planet more efficiently. In this misson, the rover will navigate autonomously between legs marked with AR tags. Each stage's location decreases in accuracy, ranging from GPS coordinates of the post being provided to them being posted 10m away from the leg with complicated and unknown terrain surrounding it.
Extreme Retrieval & Delivery
Duration: 30-60 mins
Disciplines: Robotics, Communications
The Martian terrain is harsh and unpredictable. In addition, rovers will have to assist humans in delivering and managing equipment. The rover will have to navigate terrain with boulders measuring up to 40x40x40cm3, 45o slopes, and 1m drops in the desert.