Students from the U.S. and Europe can sign up to be challenged in what is described as “the ultimate robot game” to navigate floating spheres through the International Space Station in culmination of the Zero Robotics programming competition. I’m not even allowed to compete, and I’m excited about this.
The competition, organized by MIT and the European Space Agency, centers around using volleyball-sized SPHERES (it stands for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, and Reorient Experimental Satellites) each equipped with 12 jets of compressed gas to move them in different directions in microgravity. Teams from secondary schools program algorithms to maneuver the satellites to complete game objectives by navigating obstacles and accomplishing designated tasks.
via Geekosystem
Image: NASA
