The Zero Robotics SPHERES challenge 2010

The designation of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory enhances the ability to use the facility for educational objectives. The MIT Space Systems Laboratory and Aurora Flight Sciences started the Zero Robotics program to enable High School students to participate directly in the science conducted aboard the ISS. The program, based on the successful history of the FIRST Robotics Competition, opens development of SPHERES software algorithms to high school students. The team developed an IDE, simulation, and visualization engine for this purpose. The 2010 event took place from September to December. This event was considered a pilot because it was the first time the MIT SPHERES teams supported a nationwide event. The pilot included an application process, from which 24 schools from 19 states were selected. The teams participated in a simulation competition in October, which consisted of a full round-robin. In November the teams were split into three groups, and competed in double-elimination rounds using the MIT ground satellites. The top 10 teams from the two rounds participated in the ISS finals on December 16. The success of the 2010 event, which involved over 200 students, provides a promising future for the program.