Utah Robotic Apparatus for Practice, & Testing on Regolith
I worked tirelessly for multiple years to build the Utah RAPTOR Lunar test pit. I was given no resources - no budget, no materials, no connections, and nowhere to go. I got to work and made the rounds to every organization and office on campus, as well as over dozens different local businesses.
In time to test for the 2025 Lunabotics competition, I had gathered a small army of robotics students, whose help was immeasurable but intense. We worked to build this test pit according to specifications I worked out with Facilities, the College, and the ADA office. We build it was donations I organized from 5 separate companies, using 3 more to move 26 tons of lunar regolith and concrete walls into place.
Many late nights were spent in this test pit, in full PPE, with the team. But those two months were the difference between an untested robot and a robot that not only won NASA Lunabotics, but broke the all-time construction record - twice. No matter how good the robot designs were, almost every robot failed at least once in the harsh (simulated) lunar environment at NASA. Thanks to this test pit, ours did not.
(Me in the Utah RAPTOR, prepping TERI for another test.)