Space Grant Robotics

Mike Veto - mentor from Space Grant Robotics In an effort to spread the ideals of FIRST, Team 2449 has partnered with NASA/ASU Space Grant to bring the hands-on engineering of robotics and the spirit of Gracious Professionalism to the university setting. The NASA/ASU Space Grant was established by Congress in 1988 to provide students with a means by which to conduct research in virtually any field to better train the students with the skills necessary for the upcoming problems of tomorrow.

In this inaugural season, the Space Grant Robotics team brings together students from a variety of majors to practice hands-on engineering through the design, construction, and implementation of a remotely controlled underwater vehicle to compete in the National Underwater Robotics Competition and the Marine Advanced Technology Education Competition. Many of us students have participated in high school robotics teams in the FIRST robotics program such as the Orbital Sciences sponsored Team 2449. As college students, we are now seeking to prepare for careers in science and technology by working as a team to design a robot! Our hope is that in the future, other FTC and FRC team members will follow this pathway to success, join the Space Grant Robotics team, and use this team experience to connect to opportunities in industry.

Mentors from ASU's Space Grant Robotics Thus far the team has completed two projects in preparation for the underwater robotics competitions. First, the team used several Lego Mindstorm RCX kits to compete in competitions against each other. The team then built a reconnaissance robot that was able to navigate by remote control and video feed. This robot was deployed under the Mars Space Flight Facility in order to search for a cat that presumably died under the building... it was never found. Additionally, the team built a small underwater ROV that was deployed in both the ASU Memorial Union fountain and the Student Recreation Center swimming pool. The team is currently using these robots for education outreach events, and is in the midst of designing an ROV to compete at the local and national level.

In addition to their own team efforts, members of Space Grant Robotics also mentor FRC Teams 2449 in Tempe and 236 in Chandler. The spirit of Gracious Professionalism lives on beyond FRC and these mentoring efforts bring the two teams together on occasion to share ideas and learn from each other. Thank you FIRST!