Introduction

The water rocketry challenge is a competition to build a rocket powered by pressurised water. The competition focuses on designing aerodynamically better rockets that would be capable of accurate flights when launched at a particular angle from the horizontal. The participants need to study the basics of rocketry and come up with their own designs.

Problem Statement

The participants are required to design and build a single stage water rocket. The rocket is to be launched at any angle with respect to the horizontal as per the choice of the team. The winner will be decided on the basis of the rules mentioned below.

Guidelines

• Only plastic soft drink bottles are to be used for the rocket body.
• The water rocket must use only compressed ambient atmospheric air as its source of energy. Only tap water shall be used in the rocket, and the water shall be provided by the organisers. Water brought by the team shall not be allowed in the rockets.
• The amount of water to be filled in the rocket body is left to the choice of the team.
• The pressure inside the container (rocket body) before launch should not exceed 60 psi.
• Launchers and pressure compressors will NOT be provided by the organisers.
• The launcher to be constructed by the team should be fitted with an air compression device or pump for pressurising the contents of the rocket body. A pressure-gauge having a minimum range of 0-100 psi to display the pressure of air in the water-rocket has to be attached to it too.
• Rocket must be launched from a stationary position on a fixed launcher. (Slingshots,trebuchets, catapults, cannons, and all other forms of launcher boost assists are forbidden). In other words, the internal pressure of the rocket must be the only source of energy for the rocket.
• No component or a body part of the rocket should get detached from the main frame during the flight of the rocket. If any part gets detached then the rocket will be disqualified.
• One day before the actual competition [i.e. 6th September, 2013], the participants would be given the opportunity to test launch their rockets. Teams are advised to bring in their equipment as well in case of on-spot changes required in the hardware of the rockets.
• The teams may bring as many rockets as they wish, but the number of rockets used must comply with the rules mentioned below.

Arena Images


• The launch arena will be a sector of circle with sector angle 60° and the launch will take place from the center of the circle. In this round, the points earned by the team will depend primarily on the range of flight (greater the range, greater the points earned).
• There is an additional score of 20 points which can be earned if the rocket lands inside the 30° sector. The rocket will not be considered if it fails to fall within the 60° sector.
• If a team’s rocket fails the Burst Test, ONLY ONE extra rocket shall be allowed to be burst tested. If that rocket fails the burst test too, then no points will be awarded to the team.
• Once a rocket passes the burst test, it shall be allowed only one attempt for launch.
• The range of flight is the distance between the point of launch and the point of first impact with the ground after launch.

Rules and Regulations

• Safety comes first. The nose cone and fins should not be made of metal or any sharp surface. The rocket should be launched using a string from a safe distance, not with the help of hands. If a team fails to meet this requirement it will be disqualified from the event.
• Team Size: A team for Liftoff can have a maximum of 4 members. However, they need not be from the same college/university/institution.
• The competition will consist of a single round. The angle at which the rocket is launched, the amount of water to be filled in the rocket body and the pressure inside the rocket is up to the decision of the team, provided the pressure does not exceed 60 psi.
• Burst Testing: All rockets will be tested to a pressure of 90 psi before they can be allowed to enter the competition. Teams are therefore advised to test their rockets to a pressure of 90 psi beforehand and also bring substitute rockets with them.
• More information

Judging Parameters

• The range of the rocket along with the extra points awarded for keeping the rocket within the 30° sector will constitute the total score.
• If the rocket lands on the border of the inner 30° sector, no additional points will be awarded.

Contacts

For any doubts or queries feel free to mail tanmaya@nssc.in

Guest Lecture by Team Indus

Introduction

Feel the energy to build a rover and take it to the moon. Team Indus comes down to IIT Kharagpur on account of National Students’ Space Challenge 2013. You can get an opportunity to know the details of making a lunar rover and how is the research going on across the world as far as conquering the lunar surface is concerned.

Team Indus will deliver a presentation of their old rover and will mainly focus on building a spacecraft to take the rover into space. They will give an overview of trained 4 Space which will involves the technology needed to make a rover survive in harsh space environment.

Once the rover is ready it would have the opportunity to be tested in ISRO facilities and in case of a successful evaluation, the team can go on and design the spacecraft for taking it to the moon. So prepare yourself for some serious action and design your own space rover as well as spacecraft.

Brace Yourself !

Introduction

NASA’s Mars Science laboratory landed the curiosity rover on Mars in 2011 with the efforts of finding evidence of life. Our desires have witnessed a steeper rise everyday with new fascinating discoveries. This passion has driven Nasa to launch a rover in 2020 which can bring sample of Martial Soil back to Earth. Drill-droid aims to help in this endeavor and collect samples from under a solid surface.

Problem Statement

The participants are expected to build a manual bot which is capable of traversing a difficult terrain, having a drill mechanism attached. The mechanism should be able to drill at specific locations in the arena and also collect sample present underneath. The bot should thus be able to traverse a rocky terrain like Mars, drill through thermocol placed at specific locations and suck the liquid through the holes drilled at the marked locations.

ARENA

• The terrain will be spread across an area of 2.5m * 2.5m. The terrain will consist of sand, rocks, craters and pebbles of height not exceeding 3-4 centimeters.
• The drilling spot will be marked red and will have an area of 3cm*3cm. It will be made up of only thermocol (of thickness not more than 3cm) or thermocol reinforced with corrugated paper (thickness not more than 0.5cm).
• The depth of the bottom most surface liquid will not be more than 5 centimeters.
• The liquid will be colored water or oil.
• The dimensions of the arena are subject to a tolerance of 10 percent.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

• Robot should fit into a box of dimensions 40cm x 40cm x 40cm (l*b*h). No part/mechanism of/on the robot should exceed the given dimensions at starting of the run. However the robot can change its dimension itself after the starting of the event.
• There should be a transparent container to collect the sample which should be visible from outside.
• The outer diameter of the wheels should not exceed maximum dimension of 10 centimeter.
• The maximum allowed weight of the robot is 10 kg.
• In case of any technical problem, the team can have a second run, but with the deduction of 20% points. No appeals can be made after a rover fails to run in the second attempt.
• Teams cannot tinker with their robots in the arena.
• The decision of the organizing team will be final and binding.

GUIDELINES

• The maximum allowable team size is 5. The members need not be of the same institute.
• Only one robot is allowed per team with a maximum of two controllers per team.
• Wires should remain slack during the course of the run. Pulling the wire to aid the robot in traversing may lead to disqualification.
• The participants will be provided with 220 Volts, 50Hz standard AC supply. Participants can either use this according to their convenience or arrange for any other power supply required for their robot if necessary. In case batteries are being used, teams are advised to bring batteries and charging kits as well.
• The liquid may be collected in a single container, the container should be transparent and visible from outside.

JUDGING PARAMETERS

• The time of run, T (in minutes) that is the time from the beginning of the run till the collection of the final liquid sample.
• The number of successful drills, N.
• The number of successful collection of samples, M.
• The teams can take two time outs during a run for a maximum duration of 5 minutes with a reduction in total score by 5% in the first time out and an additional 10% in the second time out. So if a team takes both the time outs their total would be reduced by 15%.
  Team total = (15 – T)*100 + N*200 + M*300 – R
• The term R in the above formula represents reductions on the basis of time outs or taking a second attempt on the arena.
• In case a team takes both time outs and then requests for a second run their total score will be reduced by 35% from their total in the second run.

Prize

Prizes worth INR 20,000 /- to be won!

Contacts

For any doubts or queries feel free to mail shanu@nssc.in

Introduction

Living in a world of ever depleting natural resources, the day is not far when we proceed to conquer the final frontier. Soon we will have companies battling amongst themselves to get their hands on minerals from asteroids. One among them has a deep space exploration program. It aims to mine asteroids rich in iron, nickel, titanium, etc. The company scans an area of the sky for the presence of asteroids and then sends bots to locate and identify the ones that are mineable and can be reached by drill-droids.

Problem Statement

The participants are expected to design and build an autonomous robot which can work on the principle of image processing. The bot uses I.P. to navigate to mineable asteroids (represented by green colored blocks) by travelling on colored plains and avoiding obstacles (red blocks). The mineable asteroids will be removed from the arena as soon as the bot reaches them.

General Rules

• Maximum number of participants allowed is 5 per team.
• Teams cannot touch the bot during the course of run.
• The participants will be provided with 220V, 50 Hz AC power supply, and any other power supply they require has to be arranged by themselves by the participants.
• LEGO kits and pre made mechanics set parts are not allowed to be used for any kind of mechanism on the bot. For further studies on these follow the link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Mindstorms
• Rules are subject to change.
• Decision of Team SPATS will be final and binding under all circumstances.

Before Run

• The robot has to be placed in the starting zone before the start of the event..
• All the cubes will have no illumination of their own, i.e. they will be having no LEDs on them, and they would be of two colors, RED and GREEN.
• An OVERHEAD camera will also be there at the arena, which would be provided by the organizers.

During Run

• Once the task begins, participants are not allowed touch the bot. Decision of Team SPATS would be final and binding regarding any doubts regarding this rule during the event.
• The bot has to traverse through blue colored path, the rest of the terrain would be black.
• Green Cubes, of dimensions 5*5*5cm will be placed on the arena with yellow squares at the bottom of dimension 10*10cm.
• Red Cubes, of dimensions 5*5*5cm will also be placed on the arena with yellow squares at the bottom of dimension 10*10cm.
• The bot has to reach on the yellow colored square inside which the Green box is placed. The bot gets points for reaching such yellow square.
• If the bot enters the yellow square having Red cube in its center, then there would be fine imposed on the bot.
• During the whole event, it is not necessary to enter all yellow squares with green block at the center, but entering all such squares will get the participants a special “Mission Accomplished” bonus.
• A maximum of two time outs can be taken by any team, with each time out not exceeding 10 minutes each. Each time out will attract a penalty.
• Only one Restart would be provide to the team if they have some serious problem with the bot. A penalty would be imposed for the restart as well.
• Any collision with walls of the arena, i.e. walls separating the blue road and the black zone also attracts a penalty.

Bot specifications

• Maximum dimension allowed is 30*30*30 cm [l*b*h*].
• There has to be colored line dividing the bot into two halves on the top of the bot. (see figure in arena for clarity), once this line is inside yellow square, the bot is said to enter a yellow square.
• In all cases, any onboard power supply devices like batteries are to be included in the maximum dimension limit.
• Power supply devices like rectifier circuits / transformers/ adapters are also to be included in the maximum dimension limit.
• The bot can exceed the dimension limit once it has started the run (by expanding or any other means), but before the commencement of the run it has to satisfy the dimension rules as stated above.
• Potential difference between any two points on the bot should not exceed 24 volts.
• The bot dimensions would be subject to tolerance of 10%.
• The rules are subject to change.
• In case of disputes, the decision of team SPATS is final and binding.

Task

• Get into the arena.
• Enter yellow squares with Green Blocks in the center and avoid entering Yellow squares with Red blocks in the center.
• Come out of the yellow square once entered properly.
• Follow the blue colored path.

Arena

Contacts

For any doubts or queries feel free to mail pradeep@nssc.in

Guest Lecture by Chander Bhushan Devgun

Introduction

Mr. Devgun is a passionate avid astronomer is armed with a degree in mechanical engineering, has 25 years of experience in observational astronomy, telescope making, and astrophotography. He has done pioneer work in Dobsonian Telescope making in India.

Mr. Devgun has been instrumental in bringing series of prestigious international space science projects like All India Asteroid Search Campaign, Internet Telescope, Grail Moon KAM, etc. to India. He is a pioneer of many educational science programs like Project Khoj, which made to the Oxford University press publication “Maps And Measurements”. He is the chief photography, observations and experiments designer for SPACE landmark events, namely Project Vamana (Venus Transit 2004 and 2012), Mercury transit observation, Heliodyssey.

Mr. Devgun is a renowned and distinguished astrophotographers specializing wide field landscapes astrophotography. A picture of partial solar eclipse in March 2007 eclipse made it to the main story on space.com, and an image of the Lunar Eclipse was acclaimed and displayed on APOD (Astronomy picture of the Day) in 2011.Mr. Devgun is the first Indian ever to have an astrophotography picture on APOD.

Guest Lecture by Dr. S Sudhakar

Introduction

Get an opportunity to be audience to the director of the North Eastern Satellite Application Center, Dr. S Sudhakar and gain a part of his tremendous experience in space and satellite applications.

Dr. Sudhakar joined Department of Space in April, 1987 and posted in Regional Remote Sensing Service Centre (RRSSC), Bangalore and subsequently transferred to RRSSC, Kharagpur in 1988 and became Head of the Centre in 1994 and served till Nov, 2001. During the period he extended services to entire North Eastern States and Bihar, West Bengal and demonstrated the usefulness of RS & GIS techniques for natural resource management with special emphasis on forestry and ecology, biodiversity characterization in Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, land use / land cover mapping, IMSD, NRIS projects etc. He extensively worked in the mapping of forest type and density mapping of the states of Sikkim and Meghalaya. He joined NRSA in November, 2001 and served as Scientist in Forestry & Ecology Divison till August, 2006 and. extensively contributed in Biodiversity studies in Andhra Pradesh, Ecological studies in Mangrove forests of Sunderbans funded by State Forest Dept., West Bengal and Hotspot studies sponsored by MoEF, New Delhi and other user funded projects.

As Head of Land use Division, NRSC from Sept, 2006 onwards, a major responsibility in Wasteland Monitoring and preparation of Land use/Land cover maps of the entire country on 1:50,000 involving nearly 30 partner institution and DOS community have been taken up and successfully completed the task. He also extensively contributed in bringing SISDP (Space based Information System for Decentralised Planning) project into a National Project

Introduction

Space debris poses a prominent danger to astronauts and can cause catastrophic damage to orbiting satellites in the near future. Scientists at the 6th European Conference on Space Debris warn that we are heading dangerously close to a ‘cascade of collisions’ which will see an explosion in the number of hazardous particles in space. Space debris also consists of disused rocket stages, failed launches and abandoned or broken-down satellites. They collide among themselves to create even more debris. According to an estimate there are nearly 30,000 objects more than 10 cm in diameter orbiting about 930,000 miles above our heads travelling on an average of 25,000 kilometers per hour. As of now, there are two broad ways of treating space debris: moving them to a higher unused orbit or bringing them down into the ocean. But even as it descends through the atmosphere space debris can cause serious problems with the danger of collisions or polluting with toxic materials. The event challenges you to come up with a new idea of dealing with space debris considering the feasibility, cost, pollution and other imminent effects of such an effort.

Problem Statement

Your team has to give a proposal for dealing with space debris. You can propose to build new equipments for doing so or suggest modifications in methods which are already available. The proposal should include exact construction details, feasibility, timeline and cost of your endeavor.

Guidelines

• The teams have to propose a name for themselves as well as their proposed prototype.
• The team must come up with an original idea for tackling this problem. Their proposal must not be copied from existing models for accomplishing a cleaner space.
• The team can come with a system which can include multiple prototypes for debris removal working in synchronization.

About the report

• Format: The report must be submitted in PDF/Microsoft Word/Open Office Word formats only. Report must be submitted in English language.
• Page Limit: The report must not exceed 40 pages.

Structure

• An executive summary.
• Impact assessment of space debris in future: The teams are required to do the detailed analysis of the different type of debris present as well as its effect in case of collision with orbiting satellites or other debris.
• The economic and political impacts of the proposed prototype: The cost of the entire construction will be, as with any space-research, an important factor. The teams should strive to optimize their designs so as to keep all costs as low as possible. Teams can also suggest some laws to prevent the misuse of their proposed model.
• The design of the model: The design should include the dimensional details of the model. Give details about the stages of construction, types of materials used, methods of construction and justification for each along with detailed drawing showing all its parts and their use.
• The report should include the details of control systems which will be present on earth and used to control the motion and working of the prototype.
• The topmost priority should be to prevent the collisions with any other object close to earth’s surface. The teams should also take care that their design is environment friendly and does not become a source of pollution. The teams can include the details of testing phase before actually facing the problem.
• Bibliography: Give citations of books, web-pages, scientific-papers which you may have referred during your research. This is essential in order to verify the authenticity of your report.
• The technologies mentioned in your proposals may be currently in practice or under research testing. The teams are allowed to propose new, promising but yet non-existent technologies. However, each should be proposed with proper details of their operation along with references to published scientific papers that describe these technologies. However, any kinds of science-fiction technologies that do not look feasible in near future must be avoided. The teams would ultimately have to justify the feasibility of all new technologies proposed.
• The event focuses on the novelty of the design. More credit ability shall be given to the teams with feasible, original and novel approach.

Rules and Regulations

• Team Size: The maximum permissible number of members in a participating team is 5. However they need not belong to the same institute/college/university.
• The competition shall be held in 2 rounds. The first round shall be online where participants have to submit the report online.
• All teams must send in soft-copies of their proposals latest by 26st August, 2013 to spacebinsubmissions@gmail.com, along with the names of the participants and their complete details.
• The report must not exceed 40 pages which include front page, index, appendix and bibliography.
• The report should be in PDF/Microsoft Word/Open Office Word formats only.
• The diagrams should be neat and clearly labeled.
• The plagiarism in content shall not be accepted and the entry shall be cancelled.
• The shortlisted teams for second round will have to present their report in form of a presentation (PowerPoint preferably) in front of eminent judges.

Judging Parameters

• The event consists of 100 points with report consisting of 60 points and presentation 40 points.
• The presentation time shall be 25 minutes.
• The teams have to wrap up the presentation within the given limits. A warning bell shall be issued one minute before the end of 25 minutes.
• Feasibility -> 20 points
• Innovativeness -> 15 points
• Design -> 15 points
• Discussion -> 10 points
• Presentation -> 40 points
• The decision of judges shall be considered as final.

Contacts

For any doubts or queries feel free to mail tanmaya@nssc.in

Small Satellite and Ballooning Workshop

Ever had the feeling of taking a giant leap to the final frontier. Humans made their first giant leap with the help of satellites. They have been up there from a long period of time and influenced all our lives. They have a great impact on our day to day activities including weather forecast, global positioning system (GPS) and many more…

Take a closer look at how they do and what they do with the help of understanding of small ones.

Evolution of Small Satellites

Why small satellites? - Introduction, Comparison of large and small satellites, Challenges in small satellites, Benefits and Applications - Applications - Space Debris, Imaging, etc.

Type of Missions - Formation, Cluster, Constellation, Examples of Missions

Overview of Platforms & Payloads

Different platforms and their conception - Micro-Nano-Pico Evolution, CanSat, CubeSat.

ArduSat, TubeSat, NanoRacks, PhoneSat, Payloads flown on different small satellite platforms,

Current use of such platforms, examples, costs, timelines, complexity, Challenges in developing payloads*, Brainstorming session* - Deriving different systems required for each platform.

Small Satellite flown from India & Abroad

Mission from India and abroad - Overview of Missions with rationales, Comparison of Architectures and their rationales, Indian small satellite effort, Challenges and Problems.

Reasons for small satellite failures, Eminent non-technical problems for small satellite programs, Model solutions, Opportunities - iCubeSat, Mission Idea Contest, AIAA CubeSat Competition, PongSat, Ballooning for Small Satellites

Introduction to CANSAT and ARDUSAT

What is a CANSAT - Why should you build a CANSAT - Types of CANSAT - Open Source CANSAT KIT - AIAA CANSAT Competition -  Dhruva Space CANSAT Competition - What is ARDUSAT - Why should you build a ArduSat - Possible Interaction with the Founder of NanoSatisfi* - HAB Experiment from Sweden - HAB Experiment from India.

Have an awesome experience of all this with Dhruva Space brought to you by NSSC'13

Amateur Radio Workshop

Ever had the thought of using radio frequencies to contact anyone across the globe. The idea of picking the correct frequency from a mess of several unknown radio waves around you. Discover the fascination on this awesome journey with Dhruva Space which is brought to you by NSSC'13.

Introduction to Amateur Radio

• A Video on Amateur Radio giving an overview of this scientific activity.
• A Power Point Presentation explaining different modes of Amateur Radio communication and social service.

Amateur Radio (Rules and Regulations)

• Definition
• Types of messages
• What is call sign?
• How to establish a successful two way radio contact?
• Phonetics
• Abbreviations, Q Codes, Frequencies of operation, Do's and Dont's

Radio Theory

Overview of passive and active components, Ohms law, Kirchhoff's law, transmitter, receiver, aerials and propagation.

Demonstrations (See and Learn)

• Talk to various nearby and far away stations through Amateur Radio.
• Communications via Satellite, receiving latest weather maps from satellites.
• How to send and receive messages / pictures using computers through Amateur Radio.
• How to send and receive email messages without conventional internet connection.

Delta Wing Workshop

The knack to flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
A delta wing is a wing whose shape when viewed from above looks like a triangle, often with its tip cut off. Delta wings have become popular during the world war II and have been explicitly researched upon till date to develop new and efficient configurations. The practical issues related to the development of delta wing configuration have posed many challenges to the great minds. Over the course of time few of them have been tackled but a lot many remained in the grey area. All the combat aircrafts of the new era are either delta planes or tail-less delta planes.

This workshop by AerotriX gives the participants an opportunity to understand the theory behind the functioning of delta wing aircrafts and their design. The participants are exposed to the practical limitations put forward by the delta wing configuration and the different possible ways of overcoming them. It makes the participants innovate by coming up with their own design of mini delta wing aircrafts and fabricating them as per their design. This workshop takes the participants through a series of interactive lectures and design sessions supplemented by practical sessions, thereby providing a complete learning experience.

Workshop Specialties

• No pre-designed kits are given to participants. Participants design their own aircrafts (using hand calculation and software) under the guidance of our professionals which are later fabricated by them.
• The workshop is organized by IIT Kanpur Aerospace Engineering Graduates.

Workshop Structure

The workshop is divided into 4 modules:

• Understanding of basics of Delta Wing flight
• Design of Delta Wing
• Fabrication of Aircraft
• Flying using Remote Control

Three awards will be given to the participating teams in terms of Best Design, Best Fabrication and Innovation. The names of the recipients will be put up on our website permanently and they will also be provided with certificate of merit.

Hardware Contents in Kit

• Engine/ Electric Motor
• Electric Motor Controller
• Propeller
• Transmitter
• Receiver
• Li-Po Battery
• Servo motors (3 pieces)
• Landing Gear ( main and tail dragger)
• Wheels (2 pieces)
• Coroplast
• Styrofoam
• Control Rods
• Epoxy Glue
• Wing Holders
• Working Tools
• Other miscellaneous items

Participants can buy the receiver and transmitter for an additional cost at the venue.

Software Contents in kit

• RC Simulator
• RC Flying Tutorials and videos

Other Material

• Booklet on Aircraft Maintenance
• Booklet on aerobatic maneuvers
• Booklet on history and advancements of Delta Wing Aircraft

Duration : 3 days
Date : 6th - 8th September 2013 Organizers : Aerotrix Cost : Rs 8000/- per team for standard kit and Rs 13000/- for the complete kit Participants can register in team containing maximum of 5 members.
Visit www.aerotrix.com for further details

Introduction

Gone are the days when it took 8 long years for building a launch vehicle capable of taking us into space. Gone are the days when the shuttle designers just focused on taking a group of astronauts out of the effects of earth’s atmoshphere. With new and improving modern technology building a space shuttle has become faster and more efficient. Unmanned space missions are no longer a part of science fiction. Engineers and scientists are now keeping their focus on optimising the design of the space shuttle to carry larger and more sensitive equipments into space without compromising the integrity of the payload. The space in a typical shuttle is also limited which gives engineers the challenge of fitting a larger payload in a smaller space. We invite the young brains out their to solve a similar problem overnight.

Problem Statement

Participant have to give an optimised design of the given problem statement overnight.The exact problem statement will be released just before the event.Some component of CAD will be provided before starting of the event.Participant have to submit a design report on thier CAD to validate thier design

Rules and Regulations

• Maximum allowable team size is 3.The members need not be of the same institute.
• Total Time for the Overnight event is 12 hours with half hour extra for introduction.
• Only one design is allowed per team.
• The participant have to bring thier own laptop with pre-installed CAD software.
• The software allowed for event are PTC Creo,Solid Works,AutoCAD,Catia.
• The participant will be provided with standard AC power source and internet for any assistance in designing,however taking help from anyone other person or outsourcing thier design will lead to disqualification.
• Participant have to submit the CAD and design presentation to validate thier design.

Judging Parameters

The judging will be based on accuracy of CAD and design presentation.

Contacts

For any doubts or queries feel free to mail shanu@nssc.in

INTRODUCTION

We are living in an era of automation. Autonomous robots have seen an exponential growth in the past decade and now they have significant effect in every aspect of our life. The day is not far when we will sent autonomous rovers to perform repairs and manage experiments aboard the International Space Station. The major issues faced by rovers will be extreme environment of space, absence of gravity and difficulty to transport materials from one location to another. In many ways a low viscous environment such as underwater seems best to get a feel of this situation. We want you to get your brain juices flowing and build a rover for tackling this situation underwater.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Design and build an underwater rover which is capable of navigating a 3-D underwater maze, avoiding obstacles in the way. It should have a picking mechanism attached as well which will be used to transport cubical objects from one location to another. The pick-up and drop locations for the payloads (cubical objects) will be on top of the different pedestals located in the arena. The heights of different pedestals will be different and the bot has to change its depth for successful transport of the payload. The path may have floating obstacles that might partially obstruct the path of the rover and the robot has to avoid those obstacles by appropriate changes in orientation and position.

ARENA

The arena will be a 3-D maze with several obstacles, both floating and stationary. There will be 4 to 6 pedestals of varying heights, some of which will have objects on top of them. All the pedestals will be numbered, let’s say 1 to 6. The participants will be given a six digit code at the beginning, for instance 241653. This will imply that the rover has to transport the objects from pedestal 2 to 4, 1 to 6 and 5 to 3.

GUIDELINES

• The machine can be powered electrically only. Use of any other form of power is not allowed.
• Voltage Restrictions: Teams will be provided with 220 V AC which they may convert to any level of AC or DC voltage required. In case batteries are being used, teams are advised to bring batteries and charging kits as well. The organizers would not be able to guarantee the availability of backup batteries.
• Only propeller mechanism in allowed to control the orientation and position of the rover underwater.
• The robot can be controlled using wired or wireless communication. However, the mode of control will not be a factor for judgment.
• In case wired communication is being used for control of the rover, the wires to the control box(in the hands of participants) should be at least 7m in length and flexible enough.
• Safety Comes First: Safety is the competition's primary concern and guiding principle. Any system that is deemed unsafe by competition officials will not be allowed to compete. If a safety concern is identified, teams are allowed to modify their system and have it re-inspected. Re-inspection is limited to one attempt, at which point the rover shall be disqualified from the underwater competition. There are no appeals once your rover has been disqualified.
• In case of on-board supply of power, all efforts must be made to protect battery terminals from a direct short and causing a battery fire, failure to do so will cause direct disqualification. All the wiring in the rover should be properly insulated.
• Remote control systems from toys might be used. Remote control systems available in the market may also be used. However, readymade rovers or similar toys, if available in the market are not allowed in the competition.
• Safety precautions: The operator of the bot will have to wear well-insulated and covered shoes during the event to prevent them for electric shocks. Therefore, teams must bring at least one pair of shoes with them.
• The maximum dimension of the block that has to be transported by the participants would be 2X2X2 (inches).

RULES AND REGULATIONS

• Team Size: The team can have maximum of 5 members.
• The robot should fit in a 25 x 30 x 25 centimeters box (including propellers and picking mechanism) and there should not be any extension from the robot after the commencement of the event.
• A team must complete the code provided to them in order to qualify for consideration of time of traversal.
• n case of any technical problem, the team can have a second run, but with the deduction of 20% points. No appeals can be made after a rover fails to run in the second attempt.
• In case of safety concerns by the officials, the teams will be given one attempt for modification of their bot, after which it shall be considered for re-inspection. No points shall be deducted in this case. If the rover still fails to pass the safety tests, the team shall be disqualified from the competition.
• In case of a tie in points between two or more teams, the time taken by the rover to complete the lap will be the judging criteria.

JUDGING PARAMETERS

The teams will be judged on the basis of the number of successful transports out of three in a maximum time of 15 minutes total time the rover will take to complete the code assigned with deductions of points due to the total collisions the robot will have with the obstacles or the walls of the maze.

The points will be awarded according to the formula: 1000+ (200*N) + ((15-T)*10) - (C*2)
Where,
N is the number of successful transports
T is the total time (correct to nearest minute)
C is the total number of collisions.

In case of second run 20% of the actual points earned in the second run will be deducted. The points of the first run will not be added in the second run.

PRIZES

Total prizes worth INR 20,000!

Contacts

For any doubts or queries feel free to mail abhinav@nssc.in

Introduction

The mere thought of being stranded in some gloomy and faraway location is alone enough to send chills down our spine. And if the case is of being stranded alone in a far off location in some foreign planet, far away from the mother earth causes more devastating feelings. Stranded away from the space mission station on some other planet, the astronauts have to be rescued from the surreal terrain using a recovery bot, which is being manually controlled from the mission control center. Henceforth, be a part of this adventure in space where one gets to know many new things about the surroundings we never knew, and ultimately gets to become a hero by protecting lives.

Problem Statement

Build a manually controlled bot having an onboard camera, which can be controlled from a remote location, using wired or wireless (preferred) communication. The bot should be capable holding and collecting small cubes which will resemble astronauts in this case. During the course of the run, participants have to do the task while looking into the input they get from the onboard camera, the controller of the bot would not be allowed to look at the bot during the run under any circumstances.

General Rules

• Maximum number of participants allowed is 5 per team.
• A maximum of two controllers per team.
• Teams cannot touch the bot during the course of run.
• The participants will be provided with 220V, 50 Hz AC power supply, and any other power supply they require has to be arranged by themselves by the participants.
• LEGO kits and pre made mechanics set parts are not allowed to be used for any kind of mechanism on the bot. For further studies on these follow the link :
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Mindstorms
• Teams qualifying for the first round only go to the second round. Advantage will be given to the winners of mechanical design contest winners ONLY.
• Rules are subject to change.
• Decision of Team SPATS will be final and binding under all circumstances.

Before Run

• The robot has to be placed in the starting zone before the start of the event.
• All the controllers of the bot (A maximum of TWO) have to be in the controller zone, from where they will not be able to see their bot.
• Not more than one of the team members can be there near the bot, looking at it directly. This participant would not be allowed to control the bot under any circumstances.
• In the controller zone, participants would be supplied with power supply to charge their laptops, the have to get the input from the on board camera in their laptop in the controller zone, and have to control the bot by looking at that camera input only.
• The arena is supposed to be a cave, where the astronauts have been stranded, so it would be devoid of any lights. Hence, along with the camera, a flashlight has to be there on the bot as well.
• Specifications of the flashlight will be announced soon.
• All the cubes will have no illumination of their own, i.e. they will be having no LEDs on them.
• To assist the controllers, an OVERHEAD camera will also be there at the arena, which would be provided by the organizers, and the input from the camera would be there in another laptop, again provided by the organizers. This camera would help the controllers to look at their bot from a certain height, but given the arena is dark, so until and unless there are a few lights on the bot to illuminate itself, the overhead camera would be of no use.
• The lighting specifications of the bot will be announced soon.

During Run

• Once the task begins, controllers are not allowed to look directly at the bot by getting out of the controller zone. Decision of Team SPATS would be final and binding regarding any doubts regarding this rule during the event.
• The bot has to traverse through an irregular and dark terrain, the whole terrain not visible through the overhead camera, given the whole arena won’t be lit up by the lighting of the bot.
• The bot has to have a clasping/gripping mechanism using which it has to pick up cubes of give dimension.
• The bot may or may not have a collecting mechanism, but at the end of the run, depositing more number of cubes in the Mission Control Station will gain you more points.
• There can be one or two diversions in the path of the bot along the way, and in that case it is at the controller’s discretion to take which path, but at the end of the run the total path length that each bot can cover is same for all the participants. This will become clearer from the sample arena given in the next section.
• White Cubes, of dimensions [to be declared soon] will be placed in cavities in the walls [caves] during the run. These cubes will not be directly visible from the overhead camera, but will be visible only from the on board camera, but once the cube has been taken out of the cavity, it will be visible from the overhead camera as well.
• The cube sites [multiple in number] (site A) will be marked by white LEDs that would be visible through the overhead camera. These white LEDs will NOT be switched off AUTOMATICALLY even after the cube has been taken away from the cavity, but have to be switched off by the bot, by pushing a switch on the side of the cave. This will send a message to the Mission Control Centre that the given Cube has been rescued.
• There will be special caves [multiple in numbers] (site X), which would be marked by red LEDs, again visible from the overhead camera. The special caves will be having blue cubes (Astronomers trapped by Aliens) and red cubes (Aliens). In these caves the bot has to pick up and collect the Blue cubes, IGNORING the Red cubes, and then switch off the LED with the mechanism as mentioned before.
• Rescuing all the Astronauts from any given site (site A or site X) earns participants a bonus equivalent to the points scored by rescuing one astronaut from that particular site, i.e. if all of the three white cubes are picked up from one of the “site A” then the team will get points for picking up 4 white cubes, and if this is done in “site x” then bonus added will correspond to that of a red cube. This bonus would be site specific and would be called “The Site A Bonus” and “The Site X Bonus” respectively.
• Points would be awarded for picking up the cubes, and as well as for depositing them at the Mission Control Centre.
• During the run, if some cubes fall off the bot before it reaches the mission control center, and the bot reaches the center without those cubes, the team will get the points for picking the cubes but no points for dropping them safely at the mission control center, but if after the cube has fallen down and the bot recovers it again and reaches the mission control center with the cube, the bot will get points for both picking the cube and placing it at the mission control center.
• The time limit for the teams in the first round will be 6 minutes per run.
• The second round and the succeeding rounds will be one on one rounds, with no time limit, but the game terminating when one of the two bots has reached the Mission Control Centre.
• During the whole event, it is not necessary to collect all cubes, but collecting all the cube from whole arena will get the participants a special “Mission Accomplished” bonus. Hence, by collecting all the cubes, one can get all the “Site A Bonus” and “Site X Bonus” and as well as the “Mission Accomplished” bonus.
• A maximum of two time outs can be taken by any team, with each time out not exceeding 2 minutes each. Each time out will attract a penalty.
• Only one Restart would be provide to the team if they have some serious problem with the bot. A penalty would be imposed for the restart as well.

Bot Specifications

• Maximum dimension allowed is 30*30*30 cm [l*b*h*].
• In case the controller(s) is(are) using manual controlled remote(s) with wired communication with the bot, then the remote(s) and the wires are to be included in the maximum dimension limit.
• In case the controller(s) is(are) using manual controlled remote(s) with wireless communication with the bot, then the remote(s) and the wireless module(s) along with their batteries are to be included in the maximum dimension limit.
• In case the controller(s) is(are) controlling the bot through laptop using wireless communication devices like ZigBee ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZigBee ), then only the wireless communication module with batteries (if applicable) will be included in the maximum dimension limit.
• In all cases, any onboard power supply devices like batteries are to be included in the maximum dimension limit.
• Power supply devices like rectifier circuits / transformers/ adapters are also to be included in the maximum dimension limit.
• All on board cameras (or the mobile phone(s), if it is being used as the onboard camera) also has to be included in the maximum dimension limit.
• The bot can exceed the dimension limit once it has started the run (by expanding or any other means), but before the commencement of the run it has to satisfy the dimension rules as stated above.
• Any number of onboard cameras can be used by the participants, and communication between the camera and the laptop can be wired or wireless, but length of wire has to be managed by the participant.
• If the participating team wishes to do the task with more than one bot, it can do so. But maximum number of controllers still remains two, and only one member remains near the arena, so all untangling of wires will have to be managed by one member only.
• Potential difference between any two points on the bot should not exceed 24 volts.
• The bot dimensions would be subject to tolerance of 10%.
• The rules are subject to change.
• In case of disputes, the decision of team SPATS is final and binding.

Task

• Get into the arena.
• Retrieve victims from the cavities.
• Deposit the victims in the “Mission Control Centre”.

Arena

Contacts

For any doubts or queries feel free to mail nevin@nssc.in

T-shirt Design Contest

Introduction

T-Shirts give a face to any fest. They are a vital element of the fest and help them to reach out to a large number of people. National Students Space Challenge (NSSC) 2013, invites the cool designers out there to let your mind create your magnum opus on the theme Space. Sent us your best designs and we will showcase them on our facebook page through the Online T Shirt Design Competition. The winner will be announced on the 30th of August, 2013.

How to Enter

• Submissions will only be accepted from August 1, 2013 to August 25, 2013.The event is open for ALL.
• Email your submissions to submissions@nssc.in
• The tee-design must be based on the theme "Space".
• All entry emails should have the subject line "T-shirt Design Contest Submission - "First Name, Last Name, College Name."
• Submit the front as well as back design for the tee.
• Attach high resolution JPEG file of your designs as the entries.
• You can submit up to two designs per person. If you submit more than two, only your first two submissions in order of date and time will be considered.
• • Name :
  • Email-id :
  • Contact Number :
  • College(if applicable) :
  • City :
  • State :
  • Address :

RULES AND REGULATIONS

• Submit only original designs. These designs must not contain copyrighted material and they cannot have previously won any awards.
• Please be prepared to submit the original Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop file of your design in case your artwork is chosen.
• The design must not contain more than 3 solid colours apart from the the background color.The background color of the t-shirt is not included in 3 solid colors.
• You are not allowed to use any gradients on T-Shirts or on designs.You are allowed to use only solid colors.
• Scanned copies of hand-made designs are also acceptable.However,we will prefer digital designs.
• Contestants retain all ownership rights over their submissions, however, as a condition of participation, the contestants hereby grant a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive license to the organisers of NSSC to reproduce the design and use it for their own marketing purposes. NSSC shall retain exclusive rights over the winning entries.
• NO ADDITIONAL MATERIALS (VIDEOS, SAMPLES, ETC) WILL BE ACCEPTED WITH YOUR SUBMISSION.

REVIEW & SELECTION

• Entries will be reviewed by NSSC '13 Organizing Team.
• Entries will also be uploaded on NSSC '13 Facebook page by NSSC'13Team. Evaluation will also consider the public interest that each submission generates, measured through likes and shares along with the appreciation in the form of comments.
• You can also tag your friends in the comments section(NOT in the pic) in order to make it more viral.
• The likes and shares will be taken into account till 11:59 pm,26st August,2013.
• There will be one grand prize winner, one honorable mention and consolation prizes for other unique and creative submissions that also includes maximum likes,maximum shares.
• The judges' panel includes members of the NSSC '13 creative and design teams.
• Judging criteria is based on: creativity, originality, and content apart from public reviews.
• The selected design may be subject to modification before it is printed for the competition.
• Finalists will be required to provide reference files (i.e., preliminary drawings, source for idea).

NOTIFICATION & PRIZES

• The winners will be notified by email before or by August 30, 2013.
• The grand prize winner will receive cash prize of Rs. 5000, printed T-shirt of NSSC'13 and goodies.
• The honorable mention will receive prize cash prize of Rs 3000, a printed T-shirt of NSSC'13 and goodies.
• Consolation prizes and Goodies worth Rs 12000 and T-Shirts of NSSC'13 will be awarded based on the creativity, uniqueness and originality of the t-shirt designs.

Contacts

For any doubts or queries feel free to mail harsh@nssc.in