For the obvious reasons, I invariably get too busy to blog exactly when things get interesting...
One week to go – time to take stock. From Spaceward’s point of view, things are going well. Virtually all of the pieces are already in place or quickly getting there. We’ve had a good amount of practice setting up the racetrack, and we’ll get time to practice it again just before the games.
Regrettably, Team NSS had to withdraw at the end of last week as they were running out of money (and time) to get everything ready for the games. A shame really, since they were able to put together a remarkable system in a relatively short amount of time. (If you recall, they were trying to rebound from a loss of a major component in their system).
Team Overview:
We’re thus left with three teams: KCSP, USST, and LM.
This would be a good time to make a little comparative study among them. The formulation of the power beaming problem (The range, the fact that the receiver is mobile) drove all the teams to use laser-based systems, but beyond that, the teams are very different from each other.
Perhaps the most visible difference between the teams is not in their technology, but in their backgrounds (and character). Since none of them are newcomers, we know a thing or two about them:
|
Lasermotive (LM) is our “industry” team, led by long time laser industry expert Dr. Jordin Kare, and really almost doing this as a hobby. Another of their hobbies is this. They are based in Seattle, and one look at their sponsor list makes it clear that they are a force to be reckoned with. Laser motive is on its second year at the games, having made their debut in 2007 |
USST is our university student team (Team Captain is Bill Voss, also from Seattle, and the students are from the town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), except that nothing about it is typical of a student team – they are organized, highly professional, calm and collected – and have outperformed all other teams in all previous competitions so far. USST is the most experienced team at the games, having participated in all challenges since 2005. |
Kansas City Space Pirates (KCSP) are our robotic-club hobbyists, except (guess what…) nothing about them says “amateur”. Their engineering is superb, they have recruited a top-notch panel of consultants, they are consistently the most prepared team, perform the most detailed testings and rehearsals, and their attention to detail is unmatched. Team Captain and chief engineer is Brian Turner, and they are based in Kansas City, MO. This is KCSP’s third appearance at the games. |
 |
 |
 |
Technically, the teams ended up spanning the gamut in practically every trade-off in the design space: We have different laser wavelengths, different PV technologies, different beam intensities, different thermal designs, different tracking and aiming mechanisms…
(Another reason to miss NSS, btw, since they have settled on yet another operating area, completely different in all respects from each of the other three)
I cannot yet give up specific information, but I can guarantee to you that we have a very good race coming up. None of the teams is a clear winner by any stretch of the imagination. All three are very capable, and all three are shooting for the 5 m/s prize level.
Break-downs and other unforced errors notwithstanding, if the teams get to fully exhaust their capabilities, it will be very interesting to see which system ends up on top. Having invested two years and a lot of personal funds into the development of their systems, I truly hope all three make the prize threshold.
We will be able to divulge much more about the technical aspects of the systems during the games, but until games day (11/4), some cards need to remain face down. Maybe we’ll some more information leak out as the week progresses :)