Google Lunar X Prize: $30 Million - CEans are you game?

Replies

• 

  mahul

  Any brain waves about the funding _k??
  
  what am i saying??
  i'm only a student😁
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  mahul

  Any brain waves about the funding _k??
  
  what am i saying??
  i'm only a student😁

  😁 Read my first sentence in above post , again
  
  
  'Only a student' is not an excuse. If you have fantastic ideas, we'll arrange for the funds.
• 

  MaRo

  Let's Think About It
• 

  xheavenlyx

  You know biggie, even I wish we could have some funding. Well, lets see... Who knows it might happen 😀
  
  Bytheway, did you ask Mr. Burt Rutan about this? Are they planing to take part in this??
• 

  mahul

  Well i do want to be a part of this....and i did read ur first sentence _k
  But i would need some experience to pull off something like that
  or i would need a hell lot of time.
• 

  friendster7

  i will help u guys..i like the concepts.
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  Ya know, I believe we CEans are really capable of doing this. Even if we dont join the competition, we could at least try to come out with a lunar robot!
  
  That kind of project will require the skills of many different disciplines of engineers 😀
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  ash

  Ya know, I believe we CEans are really capable of doing this. Even if we dont join the competition, we could at least try to come out with a lunar robot!
  
  That kind of project will require the skills of many different disciplines of engineers 😀

  Ash, how about getting engineers from various disciplines from your college and work on a CE - Robot? We'll need few dedicated folks who are willing to spend some extra time on weekends.
  
  We can arrange for the funds.
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  I could get a team easily.. a couple from Mechatronics and Computer Engineering. But at the moment there are internal Robocon competitions, so they are kinda busy with that 😛 (I was in it, but I left due to other commitments)
  
  Mahul, are you up with creating a CE Robot as well? I've seen your project on the website, looks pretty good 😀
  
  We all cannot really collaborate physically, but we can at least share ideas on CE.
  
  Regarding the funds, I might be able to get components from the labs for free (if I ask nicely). I've even got spare PIC 18F chips 😀 The problem may come from getting wheels, shafts or any special parts (like sensors).. depending on what kind of CE Robot we want to make!
• 

  xheavenlyx

  lol, I like the enthusiasm, but we are talking about going to the moon, landing safely and actually taking 15 mins of video, plus traveling 500 m on the surface!
  
  Yea, a few free parts from the lab might help though. 😛

  I was going to post the above para, then I re-read the thread...ok, we are talking about a CE bot. 😀 lol, sorry
  
  I help on the motion planing or programing the robot AI algo's. Even if you need help in the electronics.
  
  However, we should actually physically make this bot in India. Preferabily in bombay or Pune for the time being 😀
  
  what do you guys say? for the Place of the robot.
• 

  mahul

  Yep i would love to help, but for this to materialise we need to meet atleast initially. then we can each branch out and work on our seperate areas of interest and expertise. We are up against pro's, so this won't be easy by any means. And we need good Aeronautical engineers( rest seem available). There's little point in starting without them( we might but won't stand the competition).
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  Whoa whoa, now Im confused 😛
  
  Are we aiming to join the Lunar X Prize, or just make our own CE Robot? Mahul, I think we should focus on making a small lunar robot (I guess some kinda rover?) by ourselves, outside the competition. It'll be a showcase of our technical and cooperative skills!
  
  Once we can actually make CE devices together, then we can start being serious in joining real competitions. At the moment, its all talk and no action!
  
  As for the place of assembling the robot.. well, I guess since the majority of CEans are in India, that would make sense. However, its possible to do this ala-Airbus style.. getting different components from different countries 😎 (maybe not really for a small project like this, but perhaps a bigger one in the future!)
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  I'll drop in.
  
  I believe its too early for us to start talking about offline projects (like CE Rover). Let's begin with something that's possible to online!
  
  Once we executive one project successfully and attract more engineers, we can setup offline clubs where engineers gather on weekends and work on projects.
  
  I am, in no way, disheartening anyone of you. Offline stuff is possible only when we're bigger in number.
  
  Let's say, ash gathers few engineers from Malaysia at CE - Malaysia club, Mahul gets few from Kolkata at CE - Kolkata club, xHx - from Dubai etc., we work out a plan develop stuff on our own and ship it to a place where another team will assemble it ..and so on ( sounds crazy! ) But I believe its possible and we'll do it some day.
• 

  mahul

  This sounds realistic, well i'm all for this arrangement. I was confused too Ash, but what _k has suggested is what i suppose we must focus on presently.
• 

  xheavenlyx

  Ok, first step is to write down our objectives.
  
  1. What exactly are its capabilities. Wireless com, video, IR, sensors, motion technique (motor, rail, chain?) etc.
  2. What is required to make these? Like a webcam or a normal camera, 1/2 Watt motors etc?
  
  3. What functions? Path planning, Data storage, analysis (what kind of analysis) etc.
  
  
  
  Biggie, Should I open a new thread under LABS? Secondly, we can have a collaborative Google document, this will also be explained in the new thread. Everyone who wants to properly contribute can post the objectives and plans on the thread or in the Google doc.
  
  After a while we can assign a few things to different members. Some tasks can ofcourse overlap.
  
  ===EXAMPLE===
  
  ASH: Motion planning, path planning, simulation, MATLAB etc
  MAHUL: Motor Control, Power Unit, uContr. etc
  XHX (thats me): Vision algorithm, sensors, MATLAB etc
  BIGGIE: Some parts procurement (he gots connection and people powers!)
  OTHERS: other tasks etc
  
  ===/EXAMPLE===
  
  ONE VERY IMPORTANT POINT TO remember is that the project can be constructed in modules, where each part has a specified inp/outp/power/ground relation or something, you know, swappable part and easier to replace.
  
  ALL IDEAS I JUST WROTE WERE BRAIN STORMED, SORRY FOR INCONVENIENCE OF JUMBLENESS AND CAPSLOCK TYPING.
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  xheavenlyx

  Biggie, Should I open a new thread under LABS? Secondly, we can have a collaborative Google document, this will also be explained in the new thread. Everyone who wants to properly contribute can post the objectives and plans on the thread or in the Google doc.

  Great work, man! You sound pretty excited 😛 But erm.. can't I get easier tasks? 😔 Just kidding, hehe.
  
  Can we sorta embed Google Docs with this website? Perhaps we can have a CE-wiki that all members involved in a project can add & edit. I agree about the concept of modules. Thats very important in robot making!
  
  Big K got connections too? awesome.. *grin*
• 

  xheavenlyx

  Ash.
  
  1 Do you have yahoo??? give the address on the CE shout main page.
  2. We can have a wikki but for now a thread is ok. Let it grow, let us have more things to discuss.
  3. Google docs I tihnk is there with the crazyengineers.com email you had.
  
  
  Ash, I need to know you will stay with this project. We can take baby steps for now, I know, too much hype can actually kill the idea even before it starts! We can discuss further on chat or the new thread I will make now.
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  I'll stay, no worries 😉 The sooner we start something, the better.
• 

  just2rock

  xheavenlyx

  Ok, first step is to write down our objectives.
  
  1. What exactly are its capabilities. Wireless com, video, IR, sensors, motion technique (motor, rail, chain?) etc.
  2. What is required to make these? Like a webcam or a normal camera, 1/2 Watt motors etc?
  
  3. What functions? Path planning, Data storage, analysis (what kind of analysis) etc.

  Great thoughts indeed for kick start..the thread but cant it be a more simple
  just kidding😛
  well funding for the said will arise the main problem,otherwise ideas ...they will come up once funds go with it;-)
  blog reloaded:#-Link-Snipped-#
• 

  ice111

  why this thread is dead, no one planing anymore?
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  Unfortunately we don't have enough resources, active members nor experience at the moment to pursue constructing a Lunar robot. Heck, we havent even finished a CE collaborated project yet. In this light, we have planned to do a more modest project called CE Bot. Please contribute if possible. Every little bit helps 😀
  
  Check here: #-Link-Snipped-#
• 

  raj87verma88

  It can be done. It will be done. The question is, When do we start??
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  raj87verma88

  It can be done. It will be done. The question is, When do we start??

  I hope you are referring to the CE Bot 😛 I'm quite surprised not many CEans are interested in joining the project. If we manage to complete it (or at least complete most of the objectives), it shows we can successfully collaborate with each other, opening the doors to other projects 😀
  
  At the moment, the project pages are still under construction:
  #-Link-Snipped-# (used the URL redirection cause the actual link is too long to remember)
  
  We will continue discussions here:
  #-Link-Snipped-#
  Please do contribute 😀 You don't need special permission to join. No matter what engineering discipline you are, you can contribute your ideas!
• 

  raj87verma88

  ash

  I hope you are referring to the CE Bot 😛 I'm quite surprised not many CEans are interested in joining the project. If we manage to complete it (or at least complete most of the objectives), it shows we can successfully collaborate with each other, opening the doors to other projects 😀
  
  At the moment, the project pages are still under construction:
  #-Link-Snipped-# (used the URL redirection cause the actual link is too long to remember)
  
  We will continue discussions here:
  #-Link-Snipped-#
  Please do contribute 😀 You don't need special permission to join. No matter what engineering discipline you are, you can contribute your ideas!

  Robotics and Mechatronics starts as a subject in my course from the next sem. I may join an institute which teaches this subject in my summer vacations. I am game for the project and will provide all help I can. And what about this Google Lunar X?? Are you all making something in it? If yes then you can count on me to join. I like working on projects. It is an addiction of some kind.
• 

  ice111

  I too think we should try for GLXP, make a team of CEans, but I still don't know how many active users are of CE to see how many can join.
  
  As far resources are concerned, we can ask help from any companies and libraries for reference.
  
  If we see Amsat, man they do a lot and have lot of active members, why cant we.
• 

  Ashraf HZ

  I admire your enthusiasm 😀 I wish all our 10K members ar like you! But if you see our other projects, we are plagued with inconsistent commitments as well as coordination issues. We dont have the critical mass of active members to get the ball rolling for anything.
  
  The CE Bot was done to layout the framework on proper coordination and collaboration online. If you see our objectives, it almost parallels one of a lunar robot (except for the launch 😉 ): A bot that can traverse over rough surfaces, contain a camera and other sensors, wireless transmission from bot to a host computer, etc. Lets start at the basics and work our way up.
  
  😀
• 

  ice111

  Hi guys
  
  topic on google lunar x prize GLXP is continues at different thread #-Link-Snipped-# .