Autonomous robots created by teams of engineers from across the United States will compete for $1.5 million in prizes this weekend at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in a contest sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Challenge requires the six competing teams to design and build a robot system that will locate and collect a set of specific objects from a large area and return them to a designated starting zone.
NASA’s deputy administrator, Lori Garver, and the agency’s chief technologist, Mason Peck, will be on hand Saturday morning during opening ceremonies.
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