Students from Queen's University Belfast (QUB) are heading to Florida this month to compete in a Nasa 'lunabotics' competition. The university-level event challenges teams to design, build, and operate a lunar robot using Nasa's systems engineering process.
The QUB team, consisting of 10 students, created a 52 kg aluminium frame robot. This robot is designed to autonomously navigate a simulated lunar environment, excavate lunar-simulant sand, and deposit it at another location to form a wall.
Jack Fitzpatrick, a PhD student in mechanical engineering, stated that the invitation to the competition is a "great feeling" and an opportunity to represent Northern Ireland, the UK, and Europe abroad, as they are the only European team participating. Jamie Smith, a third-year electrical and electronic engineering student, explained that the team was divided into software, electronics, and mechanical groups for the project.
The QUB team secured their place in the international competition after winning a precursor event in Milton Keynes. They will compete against university teams from Australia, India, and the US at the University of Central Florida.