CHATROOM ARCHIVE #1

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Chat room #Pipeline

Robo_Moderator: Welcome to the Women in Engineering Chat Room. We will begin shortly.
science <Q>: What is ur phone number that we can call to ask questions?
Robo_Moderator <A>:There is currently no phone number to call in. You may submit all questions here via webchat.
h_and_p_kid <Q>: how do we get to the webcast
Robo_Moderator <A>: Go to http://robotics.nasa.gov and follow the first link to the "TODAY's webcast!"
savan <Q>: During the mars mission, the Oportunity rover had once the problem of slipping while moving on slope. How was that problem solved? Which techniques were used for that?
awright <A>: They drove backwards because they get better traction that way due to the way the rocker/bogey is designed
awright Hi, savan
juliana <Q>: hello, Very interesting webcast :D Im glad I got the link
sdesiano <A>: glad you could join us!
ASB <Q>: Indeed, I could connect just on time to catch it!
Robo_Moderator <A>: Great!
savan <Q>: webcast transmission is not that clear..voice brokes. is it possible to download it
YClearwater <A>: The WebCast, as well as this web chat will be archived -- Jusdst stop back at this site: robotics.nasa.gov
St._John_s_School <Q>: We enjoyed the webcast from St. John's School
Ereed <Q>: Hi Anne, You mentioned rocker/bogey. What does that mean?
awright <A>: If you look at the side of Spirit, Opportunity, sojourner, or any of the recent 6-wheeled NASA rovers you will see bars connecting the wheels together that let them independently move up and down. That is the rocker/bogey.
juliana <Q>: with the legos I built little nasa ships, I always had a dream to be in nasa since I could remember
PWahnish <Q>: I could not get on the webcast so I am glad it is being archived. Pinellas County Schools had us blocked.
Robo_Moderator <A>: Sorry to hear that. The archives should be available around 4pm Pacific time today.
SylviaK <Q>: hi
savan <Q>: recently rovers are facing problem of less engery due to sand deposites on solar panels. Is there any mechanism provided for clean off this dust...like clearing camara lens
mbualat <A>: There is no way to clean the solar panels on the rovers. They were originally supposed to last just 3 months! The wind on Mars helps to clean off some of the dust.
jstack <Q>: Will there be other webcasts like this in the future? Great job..
St._John_s_School <Q>: WE participated in First Lego League this year
h_and_p_kid <Q>: when will the next robot go to mars?
sdesiano <A>: Right now, Spirit and Opportunity are exploring Mars and there are three spacecraft orbiting the planet, taking pictures. This year, we are launching a new orbiting spacecraft, and in 2007 and 2009 we will be launching robots named Phoenix and the Mars Science Laboratory.
h_and_p_kid <Q>: when will the next robot go to mars?
mbualat <A>: The next rover that will go to Mars is the Mars Science Laboratory that will launch in 2009. It will be on a 10 month trajectory to Mars and finally arrive in 2010.
juliana <Q>: I am interested in robotics, I wish to do a minor on it, since my major is Computer Information systems... but I am kinda lost in all this.. I remember I loved legos, those were my favorite toys when little, now I would like to know some engineer... is so hard to decided what to do
PWahnish <A>: Juliana, a major in computer information should be of great benefit to your minor in robotics. Computer software manueverability is one of our greatest assets on our robotic team
Robo_Moderator: We have a message from our admin, Seth Carter. The archives will be located on the JPL website. We will give you the address shortly. Thanks for your patience.
St._John_s_School <Q>: hi
ASB <Q>: But it talked about robotic. Is there any other field, maybe a lower level of engineering, that a high schooler could get into
jstack <Q>: Are there other designs than the rocker/bogey, being considered for future Mars/Moon missions?
awright <A>: That is the only design currently being considered for Mars by the Science Mission Directorate, but there are other designs being considered for use in human/robot interaction missions, such as future missions to the Moon
jg_cali <Q>: How long do you work on a rover before sending it into space?
sdesiano <A>: There are lots of steps to sending a rover to Mars. We started designing Spirit and Opportunity in 1997, started building it in 2000, and launched it in 2003. Even before that, scientists were talking about what they wanted the rover to be able to do and look like. From beginning to end, it's almost seven years. Building the actual rover takes one or two years.
juliana <Q>: what kind of courses are there on robotics. Some kind of course for young adults in this field. Like a summer camp kind of.
YClearwater <A>: Great Question! My teammates and I have just launched the NASA Robotics Curriculum Clearinghouse (RCC) as a resource to educators and students everywhere -- you can find terrific, plug-and-play educational materials on all aspects of robotics at http://robotics.nasa.gov/rcc -- Yvonne
SylviaK <Q>: how do you build your own robot
PWahnish <A>: SylviaK Our team is part of FIRST (www.first.org) which is directed at high school students interested in robotics. However, there are many different kits available online which may be purchased and used to build robots.
SylviaK <Q>: how could you build a robot out of legos?
Ereed <A>: Excellent. The easiest way for someone who is not associated with a team to get into Lego robotics is to get your hands on a Mindstorms kit, available at toy stores. I'd really encourage you to start a school or neighborhood Lego League team, though...it's much more fun to do this with friends! Check out www.firstlegoleague.org.
St._John_s_School <Q>: We are considering participating in BEST robotics next year. Has anyone participated in that competition?
Ereed <A>: We have not participated at our school, but we are looking into starting a competition here in California. It looks like a fantastic way to get into 'big' robotics (robots that weigh more than a few pounds) without doing a whole lot of fundraising.
sdesiano: If you're in high school, the best things to do are to take classes and maybe join a club. There are lots of clubs, like Botball, FIRST, and others that were mentioned in the broadcast and in this chat. In terms of classes, math and science are the kinds of things that help you prepare you to study engineering in college. Of course, other courses, like history, economics, english, and foreign languages, will help you be a better engineer by helping you understand the world we live in.
me <Q>: What is the best robotics set for starting out? I've heard of Robolab.
awright <A>: The best robotics set is really the one available through the botball contest (see http://www.botball.org), if you can be part of a botball team. Otherwisee, the LEGO Mindstorms kit is good for starting out. Unfortunately you can't do very complex things with the Robolab software. If you get to the point where you hit the limits of what it can do, check out IC from kipr.org.
jg_cali <Q>: is K9 going to Mars?
mbualat <A>: No. K9 is a prototype robot, which means that we use it to develop and test technologies that we would eventually like to send on a "flight robot". A flight robot has been built especially to withstand the cold and radiation of space.
Robo_Moderator: For the archive, please go to: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/webcast.html
Robo_Moderator: We will be posting this shortly on the website.
pace <Q>: What was the name of the robotic competition they were talking about? Boop ball? Is there a website to find more information on it? Enjoyed the webcast.
Ereed <A>: 'BotBall' is an excellent way to get into robotics as a middle or high schooler. BotBall focuses more on the software end of the spectrum, while competitions like FIRST and BEST focus more on hardware. Each competition is 'unendingly' challenging. There is a website at www.botball.com, and grants are often available for schools who cannot afford registration.
h_and_p_kid <Q>: why not use treads for the mars? they could be like snowmobles.
sdesiano <A>: We've considered lots of designs for moving robots around, including treads, rubber tires, metal tires (like we used on Spirit and Opportunity), wings, rockets, and even inflatable wheels. Back in 1998 when we were first designing the rovers, those drawings that I mentioned included every possible way of moving around that we could think of. In the end, we picked metal wheels because they don't slip (like treads), but have very few moving parts, which makes them break less often.
h_and_p_kid <Q>: lego league is awsome!!!::teeth
PWahnish <A>: H_and_p_kid I would agree withg your assesment of LEGO League for elementary through say sixth grade, after that I like some of the more advanced kits that are available.
SylviaK <Q>: Anne,how do you build a robot?
awright <A>: It depends on what kind of robot you want to build. There are different classes of robot which can be built, from simple and cheap, to more capable robots which are more complex and cost more. The simplest way to get started is to get a robotics kit that includes everything you need, such as BYOBOT, or one of the BEAM robots. The way we build more complex robots like K9 is to machine the chassis out of metal, add motors, sensors, electronics, etc., then put a computer (such as a laptop running Linux) to be the brain and control everything
Ereed: I wanted to go back to ASB's question about other (non-robotic) engineering opportunities in high school (I pushed the wrong button, sorry!)...there are bridge-building competitions, where you design a bridge out of popsicle sticks or toothpicks, then compete to see who's bridge can take the most force (weight). Our local tech museum in San Jose holds an annual 'tech challenge' in which teams design a not-necessarily robotic device to solve a challenge such as climbing a rope or scaling a half-pipe. A lot of these are local...check if you have a tech or science museum nearby...or you can create one yourself at your own school!
juliana <Q>: what kind of programming should one study?.. right now i am learning visual basic, are there better programs to use with robotics?
PWahnish <A>: Juliana Visual basic is a great start along with "C" other than that I would have to defer your question to others more into the computer programming side of things.
jg_cali <Q>: Maria - What did you take in undergrad. I am in high school and want to pursue mechanical engineering.
mbualat <A>: As an undergrad I studied electrical engineering. Robotics is a field that requires many different disciplines. We have several mechanical engineers on our rover team.
sdesiano When I was in the tenth grade, my physics teacher got us all to enter a bridge building contest. They were made of bass wood and crazy glue. It was a ton of fun. I actually have the bridge in my livingroom right now.
savan <Q>: with land rovers...will unmanned low flight arial vehicles be considered ?? what about hover crafts?
awright <A>: There have actually been a few projects working on arial vehicles to work with land rovers. However, it very much depends on what kind of atmosphere and gravity the body you want to explore has when thinking about this. Approaches have included balloons or helicopters for high-air-pressure environments (like Venus or the Earth), or hopping robots which launch themselves in long low arcs on low gravity bodies (such as asteroids or Mars' moons).
savan <Q>: how can we be part of this amazing robotics exploration.
mbualat <A>: You can start out by looking into internship opportunities. At NASA, we have internships available at many levels, starting with high school and all the way up to graduate student level. Check out the nasa.gov website and follow links for education.
juliana <Q>: thank you very helpful I have to run now :D Have a great day.
YClearwater <A>: Juliana - thanks for joining us. Hope to see your name on a future Rover Team manifest list!!
savan <Q>: internship is open to just US nationals ??
mbualat <A>: There are a few programs that are open to foreign nationals.
SylviaK <Q>: Anne, Can you build a robot without useing a robot kit?
awright <A>: Yes. LEGO's or other building kits are particularly good to use. You can also make robots out of pieces you buy at the hardware and electronics store, though the learning curve is higher.
jg_cali <Q>: What can K9 do? What tools does it have?
mbualat <A>: K9's chassis is very similar to those of Spirit and Opportunity, so it can drive over very similar terrains. It has a 5 degree-of-freedom arm, so it can place instruments in almost any orientation. On the end of the arm, we have a microscopic camera similar to (but more advanced than) the ones on Spirit and Opportunity. We also have a near-infrared spectrometer and high resolution color cameras.
jg_cali <Q>: How can you explain why Spirit and Opportunity have lasted so long?
awright <A>: A combination of having been designed and built as well as it is possible for a lot of very dedicated people to do, and having been remarkably lucky. Also, the solar panel dust problem turned out not to be as bad as had been feared. A lot of bad things can happen to a robot that far from anyone who can help them, so it is hard to estimate how long a rover will last, but every once in a while things work out particularly well. It may be hard to tell due to the lack of press, their longevity has been of amazing benefit to the scientific community.
savan <Q>: This whole webcast is been splendid. Thanx somuch to u all. best of luck to everyone for such n extraordinary exploration for human kind. gud day to u all. bye
YClearwater <A>: Sava - And thank you for your terrific questions and active participation --
Robo_Moderator: For some for info on education at NASA, please check out the NASA Education homepage at http://education.nasa.gov/home/index.html
SpLiT <Q>: How long did it take for Opportunity/Spirit to get to Mars?
sdesiano <A>: It took about six months because we launched them when Mars was close to the Earth. If you launch them at the wrong time, it can take twice as long.
Robo_Moderator: Just a reminder - This chat session will end in approximately 10 minutes. We will have a later session this evening at 3:45 Pacific time (6:45 Eastern)
Robo_Moderator: For the archive of the broadcast, please go to: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/webcast.html
SpLiT <Q>: what grade in high school do you have to be in for the internship? what is the minimum age?
YClearwater <A>: NASA offeres internships for students in high school (the "SHARP Program) and on up through Jr. College - College and University. You can find some information on the REP site (click on students" -- (see http://robotics.nasa.gov) or more broadly search on "internships" on the NASA home page at http://www.nasa.gov
Robo_Moderator: It will be available later this evening.
Run_Lin <Q>: what's up y'all!!
SylviaK <Q>: Do you know any names of kits?::smile
awright <A>: It's always changing. One of the best things to do is to either look at the catalogs for places which specialize in that sort of thing, like robotstore (http://www.robotstore.com/catalog/group.asp?gid=1), or acroname (http://www.acroname.com/), or sites for hobbyist robotics groups, such as the Seattle Robotics Society (http://www.seattlerobotics.org/srs-home.htm)
savan <Q>: Maria.. i did MSc mechatronics. now what next step shuld be appropriate for NASA projects
mbualat <A>: Wow! With a master's in mechatronics, it sounds like you're ready for a job!
CDB <Q>:There's also this student opportunities page: http://www.nasajobs.nasa.gov/stud_opps/employment/index.htm
Robo_Moderator <A>:Thanks for the info CDB!
Run_Lin <Q>::teeth
jg_cali <Q>: Does anyone have robotics in their high school curriculum?
Ereed <A>: I am SO glad you asked! We have a robotics curriculum though the ROP (Regional Occupational Program) that has been approved through the state for UC elective credit. If you would like a copy of our curriculum (which might help even if you are in another state), feel free to send an email to robotics2005@mrreed.com. There are also some year-long engineering and robotics curricula available at the rcc website: robotics.nasa.gov/rcc.
Botball1 <Q>: I just want to second what savan has said - the webcast has been excellent and your panelists made a lot of important points. Btw, if anybody wants more info about Botball, the website is www.botball.org.
YClearwater <A>: Thank you! Yes, indeed, Botball is a terrific place to start. The energy -- the ideas -- the teamwork! And it is inexpensive - compared to the other options. NASA strongly supports Botball
Robo_Moderator: Also, for those of you interested, please note an upcoming online course available for audit starting March15th on NASA Women in Engineering. The course address is http://robotics.nasa.gov/courses/Women05/
jg_cali <Q>: How many people work on K9?
mbualat <A>: We currently have about 10 people who work directly on K9 hardware and software. However, we also work with other scientists and engineers who are developing other technologies that we test out on K9. That team is up around 25 - 30 people.
Robo_Moderator: For the archive of the broadcast, please go to: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/webcast.html
h_and_p_kid <Q>: how far in the future is nasa planning to put people on mars? Are they looking at posible ways to do this?
mbualat <A>: Currently, the plan is to send humans to the Moon between 2015 and 2020. Mars would be after that, perhaps around 2030. NASA is already studying how to safely send humans to both the Moon and Mars.
Robo_Moderator: It will be posted later this afternoon.
SylviaK <Q>: How many robots have you made Anne?
awright <A>: I've lost track. I can list a some that I've either built from scratch or worked on as part of a group: RedFox (a 6.915 class robot at MIT), BoBo (a 6.270 robot), StupidBot (a vision demo robot), Vision Genghis (for a contest at the MIT AI lab), M1 (a robot that won a AAAI contest), Force, Mass, and Acceleration (a Mirosot robot soccer team that won the contest in 1996 and 1997), and Marsokhod and K9 (NASA prototype mars rovers)
YClearwater: While this is winding down, let me take this opportunity to tell you about a new NASA project: "GIRL" -- stands for : Girls in Robotics Learning" --the sponsoring project for this web-chat today. You can find out start-up launch information at http://robotics.nasa.gov/girl Please visit us soon to find more exciting news, information and ideas! The REP GIRL Team welcomes everybody!
jg_cali <Q>: what other power sources (besides solar panels) will be used for the rovers? nuclear?
sdesiano <A>: The main power source for all of our rovers so far has been batteries. While the rovers are on mars, the solar panels help recharge the batteries so we can run them for at least three months (though, right now, they've lasted a year, which is amazing). With nuclear power, we could run for years and not worry about getting dust on the solar panels. Some projects have thought about wind power, but nothing we've built has used it, so far.
Robo_Moderator: Thank you to all who participated. We are out of time in this chat session. Please join us again this afternoon (same place) at 3:45 Pacific time if you have more questions. If your question had not been answered yet, please wait.
sdesiano: Thanks, everybody! I enjoyed answering your questions.
sam <Q>: what kind of programming language is used for k9 and the mars rovers
awright <A>: For K9 we use C++, as do the other prototype rover projects we work with. I'm not certain if they used C++ or C for the actually flight rovers.
SylviaK <Q>: could you tell me the basics of building a robot? i want to be an engineer or an inventor. i know all robots are different, but is there any basic step or procedure you use when building them?
mbualat<A>: Hi SylviaK, Anne gave you a bit of information earlier in the chat. Robots are pretty complex, so it'd be a little hard to give you all the basics here.
mbualat: Bye, everyone. This was fun! :)
Robo_Moderator: A special thanks to all engineers who participated - Maria Bualat, Anne Wright, Salvatore Desiano, and to our teachers Eric Reed and Paul Wahnish!
sam <Q>: thanks. Ill join in again later