About This Project
The University Rover Challenge is an annual competition held in Hanksville, Utah, in which teams travel from all over the world to compete against each other in a series of tasks that are to be performed by each respective rover. Our team at Florida Institute of Technology is working towards entering this competition, knowing that this opportunity will give us a valuable experience unlike any other.
Ask the Scientists
Join The DiscussionWhat is the context of this research?
The Mars Society hosts an annual competition in which collegiate teams from all over the world travel to the Mars Desert Research Station in Hanksville, Utah to compete with their rovers. Teams partake in the challenge to demonstrate the sophistication and complexity behind their respective designs. As a design objective, our rover will need to complete the following set of tasks during the competition: Equipment servicing, Astronaut assistance, Terrain traversal, and Science Cache Task.
What is the significance of this project?
The experience that comes with designing and building a robotic vehicle such as our rover is not something that can be taught in a classroom. What we learn and take away from this project is something that will last a lifetime. With the members of our team spanning across multiple engineering disciplines, everything we learn from this real-world experience will prepare us more than anything for our future.
What are the goals of the project?
Below you will find CAD models and pictures of our rover's components, as well as our design reviews. Contained in the reviews are our list of functional requirements that need to be met by our rover in order to compete in the competition. The ultimate goal of our rover design is to out-perform each of the other rovers in all four of the major competition tasks. This budget is vital to the funding of our experiment, as well as the learning and experience that comes with it.
Budget
Our team here at Florida Tech requires this funding in order to obtain the parts needed to build our rover. Unfortunately, school funding is extremely limited, so we need your help in establishing the sufficient funds for our project. Funding the remainder of our costs is detrimental to our success in the competition, as well as our senior design showcase. If any money is left over, we plan to put it towards our travel budget for the competition. We truly appreciate any and all contributions, no matter how big or small.
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Meet the Team
Team Bio
Our team is made up of Aerospace, Mechanical, and Electrical engineers. We are an ambitious group of extremely motivated students, who are seeking to design, build, and test a highly capable Mars Rover.
Steven Medico
All my life, I've had a love for space and engineering. As a senior in aerospace engineering at Florida Tech, I've been able to expand on such passions. It's been extremely fulfilling and enjoyable to apply what I've learned in the classroom over the last four years to the designs for our Mars Rover.
William McKinnon
My name is William I'm a senior at Florida Institute of Technology studying computer Engineering. Additionally I'm in the Army ROTC program here at the school and look forward to putting my engineering knowledge to use for the Unitied States Army upon graduation.
Jennifer Geehan
Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated by space and the exploration of it. I am currently a senior at Florida Institute of Technology majoring in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Flight Technology. I enjoy being able to learn things in class and then apply them to the real world, whether it be in flight lessons or building a Mars Rover.
Joseph Horn
My name is Joe and I am currently a senior at Florida Institute of Technology studying Aerospace Engineering. The Mars Rover senior design project allows me to get a preview of what hands-on experience is for an engineer and it is the perfect project to test my skills acquired over my previous years of study as well as to expand upon them.
Vicente Aycart
My name is Vicente, and I'm a senior at Florida Tech studying Aerospace Engineering. My passions are the space sciences and engineering.
Currently, I am working on the structural and propulsive systems of the rover and I will be glad to answer any question regarding my sections. I have enjoyed working and learning with this team of top-level students so far.
Bonolo Mpabanga
My name is Bonolo Mpabanga, and I'm a senior at Florida Institute of Technology studying Aerospace Engineering. I have been interested in the world of Physics and Engineering since high school and since then its been such an incredible learning journey. My passion is in Control Systems and Aeronautical Engineering and its been extremely exciting to be able to apply what I have learned thus far in building the Mars Rover.
Joseph Miller
My name is Joey, and I'm a senior at Florida Tech studying aerospace engineering.
Katarina
My name is Katarina Vuckovic. I am a senior student at Florida institute of Technology. I am a double major in Aerospace and Electrical Engineering. I am interested in the controls area. After graduating, I am planning to to my masters degree in controls.
Rafael Almeida
My name is Rafael, and I'm a senior at Florida Tech studying Computer Engineering. My interests lie in electronics and embedded software. I enjoy working in projects like Mars Rover with teams of people who have diverse educational backgrounds.
Project Backers
- 34Backers
- 48%Funded
- $2,834Total Donations
- $83.35Average Donation