CAJUNBOT TO SHOW ITS MOVES AT NASA MICHOUD FACILITY
NEW ORLEANS, LA, 15-DEC-04 -- “CajunBot,” a robotic idea borne by a group of Rajun Cajun professors, students and staff at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL), will display some pretty fancy vehicular moves at 10 a.m. Thursday, December 16, at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility.
Capable of navigating on its own, the 1,200-pound autonomous all-terrain CajunBot sports six wheels and a 25-hp engine designed to reach a speed of 30 mph. Two high-speed computers control the vehicle’s movements, and a two-kilowatt generator supplies the electrical power.
The ULL group built the unmanned CajunBot to compete in what the Department of Defense called the Grand Challenge -- to see if a robotic vehicle could travel 150 miles in mountainous desert off-road conditions from California to Las Vegas. Lockheed Martin helped sponsor CajunBot in the competition. Over 100 teams applied to enter the race but only 13 vehicles, including CajunBot, actually competed. Not a one finished the course, but there’s always next year.
Reporters and photographers who wish to chronicle CajunBot’s demonstration are invited to come to Building 350 at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility at 9:30 a.m. To learn more about CajunBot go to http://www.cajunbot.com/site.php
Lockheed Martin Space Systems -- Michoud Operations designs and assembles large aluminum and composite structures such as the Space Shuttle External Tank for aerospace and other applications at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
