UIC students earn top-10 finish at NASA Lunabotics Challenge
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A team of UIC engineering and computer science students earned third place in the systems engineering paper competition at the NASA Lunabotics Challenge, helping propel the team to a top 10 overall finish among 47 teams at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in May.
The competition challenged student teams to design, build, and compete with robots capable of building berms from lunar regolith – the loose, fragmented material on the Moon’s surface. The robots use a bucket to gather regolith into a bed and move it to where they are instructed within a certain amount of time.
The berms will be important for blast protection during lunar landings and launches, shading for cryogenic propellant tank farms, radiation shielding around nuclear power plants, and other uses critical to future Moon missions.
In the competition, the judges considered berm size, robot weight and design, communication performance, energy use, level of autonomy, and more to make up a total score.
The team placed for their systems engineering paper, a 25-page report detailing project management and techniques they used to design, manufacture, and test their robot.
A crucial element for the team of 16 was working together. For many of them, it was their first experience working on a robotics project away from the UIC campus and being part of a competitive engineering team.
“I think the team worked well together,” said Fernanda Palomar, a mechanical and industrial engineering student and team captain. “Everyone was willing to step up when needed, support one another, and stay focused on our shared goal. Throughout the competition, we continued to improve our communication and collaboration, and I was proud of how our returning and new members came together to overcome challenges and represent UIC.”
The communication was especially important when the team discovered an issue with one of the drive motors the day before the competition. This prompted them to begin troubleshooting immediately to identify the source of the problem.
“After identifying the issue, several team members worked into the evening to repair the connection, test the motor, and ensure it was ready for competition,” Palomar said. “I was especially proud of how the team responded under pressure, stayed focused, communicated well, and trusted the troubleshooting process. Their dedication and teamwork allowed us to resolve the issue quickly and compete with confidence.”
In addition to communicating well, the students learned a great deal throughout the planning process and during the competition.
“My biggest takeaway from the competition was that engineering is never just about building a machine; it is about problem-solving, adaptability, and teamwork under pressure,” Palomar said. “Competitions like Lunabotics push you far beyond the classroom because you are not only designing and building a robot, but also learning how to make decisions quickly, troubleshoot unexpected issues, and work together effectively as a team when it matters most.”
“This competition has given me and several other students exposure to systems engineering and the overall engineering design process, which is an important skillset to develop,” said Catherine Schuch, an electrical engineering student and systems lead.
The team also received support from faculty advisors Vahe Caliskan, a clinical professor in electrical and computer engineering, and Pranav Bhounsule, an associate professor in mechanical and industrial engineering, who served as reviewers of the technical progress.
“The support from faculty was tremendous and played a major role in our team’s success,” Palomar said. “We held formal design reviews with professors from a variety of engineering disciplines, which gave us the opportunity to present our ideas, justify our design decisions, and receive valuable technical feedback. Their perspectives helped us strengthen our approach and think critically about the mechanical and systems aspects of the robot.”