AWARD YEAR
2021
CATEGORY
Work
GOALS
Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
KEYWORDS
space, mining, moon, robotics , machine learning
COUNTRY
United States of America
DESIGNED BY
OffWorld
WEBSITE
https://www.space.com/offworld-mining-robots-for-moon.html
OffWorld Robotics
Robot swarms helping astronoauts with mining resources
OffWorld is building small robots to help astronauts with various tasks on different planets and moons. The robots work in swarms and can accomplish tasks such as mining minerals and ice. The bots are powered by solar panels, and they are also planned to have self-replicating capabilities, meaning that the bots could build up more bots, creating a self-sustaining system, which is important in the harsh extraterrestrial environment. Currently, the bots are being tested and used to mine minerals here on Earth, but the company plans to branch out into space in the not too distant future.