Guidebook Summary - VTAstrobotics/Documentation GitHub Wiki

Version Note: from the 2024 guidebook draft released 8-11-23. This means this document is currently outdated! Please help update it :)

Contents

Deliverables

Project Management Plan (PMP)

Format

  • The Project Management Plan is due 9/22/23.
  • Submitted as 1 PDF
  • A 5-page maximum, not including the cover page
  • "[O]rganized clearly so that each required rubric element is easy to find"
    • This means "do not be fancy." Straightforward addressing the rubric gets points.
  • Minumum font size 12

Tips

  • Ensure Gantt chart and tables are readable
    • If any graphic has smaller than 9-point font (as viewed in the submission pdf), they cannot and will not read it.
    • If any rubric elements are unreadable, OK to discuss them in the main body.
  • Ensure all three major reviews show up on your schedule (SRR, PDR, CDR)
  • Document your decisions and reasoning as you make them!
  • Set up reviews for your budget to account for changes that will need to be made

STEM Engagement Report (STEM)

Don't get mad at me, NASA chose the acronyms. I would've been consistent and chosen "SER" for this since that's how PMP, PD, SEP, and POL (literally all the others) are. But this is what they chose, so this is what we use.

Activity Requirements

  • Both activities must be with middle or high school students
    • Anything done with younger than middle school students can go in the report but is not required for STEM.
  • Log all team members' hours. Individually.
    • This means student A must have their hours specified separately from the rest of the team
    • NASA (likely) wants to see the distribution of volunteer hours throughout the team
  • Prove the students learned
    • Activity 1: may choose to use a quiz before/after
    • Activity 2: may choose to show examples of their work
  • Use the 5e model of instruction
    • The 5 E's are: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. More info shown here.
  • Show statistics on the participants
    • Nasa wants data on the age, gender, race, etc. of students so they can evaluate how many minorities they reached through this program. These questions should be in a Google form at the beginning or end of the presentation/event.

Activity 1 Requirements

  • Must teach students about NASA and how they can get involved at their current age.

Activity 2 Requirements

  • Must be hands-on with a direct connection to NASA and the Artemis missions

The Report

  • 5-page limit (cover page and appendix not included)
  • Include a table with the individual team members' time logged
  • Identifies lessons learned and plans for improvement
  • Identifies students' experience level prior to the activity

Additional Notes

  • NASA suggests including pictures in the body of the report or in the appendix
  • NASA suggests including links to video clips
  • There are a lot of additional resources linked at the end of the section.
    • Not sure if they'll be useful, but worth a look if stuck or confused.

Presentation and Demonstration (PD)

Make a slide presentation to NASA and industry judges and (preferably) a live demo (a video is an acceptable alternative).

Safety Plan

The most important part of the PD is the safety plan.

Without one, we are ineligible to demonstrate. With a poor one, we will be docked points. And obviously, safety is important, or something.

Additional Notes

  • Submission is a slideshow as a PDF
    • Judges pre-score the content of the slideshow
  • Presentation lasts 20 minutes with a 5-minute Q&A
  • I think we could have both a video and a live demo
    • Demo the robot live functioning but have a video in the background showing it actually in the environment
  • Identify reuse of structure and systems

Systems Engineering Paper (SEP)

  • 25-page limit
    • Appendices count towards this limit, but not cover page or table of contents
  • 1 or 2-column format
  • Need external reviewers for each review (SRR, PDR, CDR)
  • Identify reuse of structure and systems

Proof of Life Video (POL)

  • No points, but a required deliverable. Else, disqualification (DQ).
  • Proof of weight
    • The video must show the robot meets the 80kg mass limit, certified by the faculty advisor in the video
    • Include navigation targets
      • This would include the posts that stick into the ground to navigate to the berm building area
  • Proof of dimensions
    • The video must show the robot meets the dimensions, certified by the faculty advisor using a measuring tape in the video
  • Show one complete cycle or 15 minutes of continuous operations

Robot Requirements

Mechanical Need-To-Knows

  • Dimensions within 1.5m x 0.75m x 0.75m bounding box
    • May expand but may not exceed 1.5m height
      • Though the robot may expand, note the stipulation of no "far-reaching" mechanisms
  • Weight under 80kg
    • Less mass --> more points. Minimize mass.
  • Hoist point around the bot's center of gravity
    • Allows the robot to be lifted by an overhead crane to be placed into the arena
  • At least 4 lifting points for human hands and clearly marked
    • 1 person required per 20kg
  • Reference point arrow to the front of the robot for orientation at competition
  • Kill switch at least 40mm in diameter, red, easily accessible, and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)

Controls Need-To-Knows

  • No using the boundary (walls). This means
    • No touch sensors
    • No using the wall with CV
  • Kill switch at least 40mm in diameter, red, easily accessible, and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)
    • May have a small battery that only powers the microcontroller(s) ONLY that bypasses the kill switch
  • Log energy consumed during each attempt (Wattmeter)
  • Teams can tape targets (i.e. April tags) to the designated frame area for navigation only
    • 90cm maximum width, 4kg mass limit, length limited by the frame area
    • Included in the mass limit and must be in the POL video during weighing
    • May send a signal, light beam, or use an unmodified laser-based detection system (Class I or Class II—less than 5mW)
    • "may be attached to any of the 4 corners of the berm box, which will be marked on the regolith by chalk. they may be mounted on rods pushed into the regolith for anchoring."
  • May use an IMU, but disable the compass feature
  • No GPS
  • May not "use any aspect of the arena (wall, floor, etc.)"
    • I do not know what they mean we cannot use the floor, lol

Competition Information

Arena Specs

  • About 6.88m x 5.0m
  • Filled with BP-1, about 45cm deep
    • Small rocks (~2cm in diameter) mixed in throughout
    • Large rocks may be mixed in
    • At least 3 boulders, 30-40cm diameter
    • At least 2 craters, up to 40cm depth/diameter
  • Berm building area is 1.5m x 0.75m
    • In some pictures it has a radius on the ends (looks like two semicircles on the ends of a rectangle, pill-shaped). Unsure if this is the shape of the zone.

Scoring Need-To-Knows

Berm Construction Points

Scored based on a volumetric scan of the berm building area only.

  • 1st: 25 points
  • 2nd: 20 points
  • 3rd: 15 points
  • Else: 10 points max
    • 25000pts per m^3 of berm constructed up to 0.026m^3
    • 1 pt per 0.013m^3 of berm constructed up to 0.026m^3
    • 1000pts per m^3 of berm constructed after 0.026m^3 ^^^ In progress. Gotta get on a plane. They are super confusing about this/they might be contradicting themselves atm. Takeaway is build big berm ok?

Dust Points

  • 30pts max for dust tolerant design
    • 10pts for drivetrain
    • 10pts for active dust control (brushing, electrostatics, etc.)
    • 10pts for custom sealing features (bellows, seals, etc.)
    • Encouraged to point out dust tolerant features to judges during setup
      • This means tell them or they might miss it and give us less points
  • 70pts max for dust-free operation
    • 20pts for driving without creating dust
    • 30pts for digging without creating dust
    • 20pts for not dumping on your own bot

Mechanical Point Reductions

  • Lose 8pts per 1kg

Controls Point Reductions

  • Lose 1pt for every kb/sec of data used (bit not byte)
  • Lose 200pts per camera
    • Again, this is one of those parts of the guidebook that isn't super clear. Pretty sure you lose 200 points outright for each camera streaming back to Mission Control.
  • Lose 1pt per Wh

Attending Competition Need-To-Knows

  • ANY ALCOHOL OR DRUGS AT COMPETITION DISQUALIFIES THE TEAM
  • ANY WEAPONS (i.e. pocketknives) DISQUALIFIES THE TEAM
  • Everyone must wear
    • Safety glasses (the team brings them)
    • N95s as a COVID precaution
      • This may be an outdated rule that gets updated, but who knows? We have like 20 N95s on top of the shelf with the red/blue bins
      • Team members must be clean shaven (for the masks)
    • Respirator masks (exact type suggested by NASA in guidebook) for arena team members only
    • Long pants
    • Closed-toe, preferably leather, shoes
    • Hearing protection, if applicable
  • Long hair must be tied back
  • Responsible for our own good lighting for the pit
  • Responsible to bring a first-aid kit
  • Probably smart to bring extension cords and power strips, though NASA claims to provide power strips
  • Advised to protect the robot from the elements, bring covering
  • Radios will be provided by NASA for communication between mission control and arena team during setup only
  • I think that NASA provides an overhead camera of the arena for mission control
  • Arena team members wear "bunny suits" to place the robot in the arena
  • One 30-minute attempt
    • Although there are some parts that say 15 minutes, I think those are just an artifact from last year. I mean the guidebook's file name is still 2023 v3 so it's obviously a rush job.
  • "Assume you cannot drive over obstacles"
    • I don't know if this means we are not allowed to, or if they expect it will be difficult
  • Arena team members cannot point out obstacles to mission control
  • "The NASA Prototype Development Laboratory’s (PDL) Bot Shop is a “mobile machine shop” with grinding, sanding, mini-mill and mini-lathe, band saw, drill press and hand tools. There is no welding capability."
    • Only NASA machinists can use the equipment