Robotic Project History

The History of Mars and NASA

"As it finished its second Martian year on Mars, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit was beginning to examine a group of angular rocks given informal names corresponding to peaks in the Colorado Rockies. A Martian year -- the amount of time it takes Mars to complete one orbit around the sun -- lasts for 687 Earth days. Spirit completed its second Martian year on the rover's 1,338th Martian day, or sol, corresponding to Oct. 8, 2007.

Two days later, on sol 1,340 (Oct. 10, 2007), Spirit used its front hazard-identification camera to capture this wide-angle view of its robotic arm extended to a rock informally named "Humboldt Peak." For the rocks at this site on the southern edge of the "Home Plate" platform in the inner basin of the Columbia Hills inside Gusev Crater, the rover team decided to use names of Colorado peaks higher than 14,000 feet. The Colorado Rockies team of the National League is the connection to the baseball-theme nomenclature being used for features around Home Plate.

The tool facing Spirit on the turret at the end of the robotic arm is the Moessbauer spectrometer.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech"

Article provided by: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/images/pia10078.html

Solar Car History

The History of a Solar Car

The definition on a solar car is a light weight, low power vehicle designed and built to race. Solar cars are not a practical means of transportation. The can only be driven during the day because the sun's energy converts directly into electrical energy allowing the car to move. A car that is mainly solar powered takes a lot o time to develop, built and maintain as well as a lot of money.

The driver's cockpit usually only contains a single seat, although a few cars do contain room for a second passenger. They contain some of the features available to drivers of traditional vehicles such as brake, accelerator, turn signals, rear view mirrors (or camera), ventilation, and sometimes cruise control. A radio for communication with their support crews is almost always included.

Solar cars are fitted with some gauges seen in conventional cars. Aside from keeping the car on the road, the driver's main priority is to keep an eye on these gauges to spot possible problems. Drivers also have a safety harness, and sometimes a helmet similar to racing car drivers.

Official website of the solar car: www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/history.shtml

History of last years robotics team

Task: To create a robot to hang laundry on a line.

Result: A fully operational robot with full range of motion.

Awards: