SANDWIICH - Lunar Surface EVA Follower Drone Concept & Demo

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  Finished SANDWIICH design

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  Testing process

Inspiration: SpaceApps guiding challenges: Real Time Lunar Surface Ops, Spacesuit Detection Algorithm Challenge, and Drone Operations

NASA 2020 Tech Taxonomy section TX04.4 - Human-Robot Interaction NASA’s Curiosity, Perseverance, and VIPER rovers

What it does: Uses image recognition to identify unique EVA suit features

Will follow the astronaut and maintain a preset distance Full-scale production vehicle will be capable of autonomously carrying tools, equipment, etc. to assist surface EVA crew Advantages: Not crew-controlled, freeing crew to perform EVA tasks Image-recognition algorithm could be integrated into scaled-up and more robust rover chassis that would allow for transportation of EVA hardware, samples, etc.

How we built it: had electronics, Python, Raspberry Pi

Challenges we ran into: hardware connectivity, software debugging

Accomplishments that we're proud of: compact design, code simplicity

What we learned: various examples of Murphy's law; be careful handling electronics components

What's next for SANDWIICH - Lunar Surface EVA Follower Drone Concept & Demo: Full-scale production vehicle will be capable of autonomously carrying tools, equipment, etc. to assist surface EVA crew

Built With

• python
• raspberry-pi