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80 • ROCK products • August 2016 www.rockproducts.com LAST CALL On May 18-20, the seventh annual NASA Robotic Mining Competition was held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Titusville, Fla. More than 45 university-level teams designed and built remote controlled mining robots to traverse a simulated Martian terrain. The Caterpillar-sponsored competition is designed to engage and retain stu- dents in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, and provides an environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could potentially be used on NASA's journey to Mars. Caterpillar has a rich history of techni- cal innovation and in order to sustain its long-term competitive advantage, the company needs to continually focus on building a sustainable talent pipeline. By supporting STEM initiatives such as the NASA Robotic Mining Competition, noted the company, its helping to inspire the next generation of engineers and sci- entists. With over 10,000 engineers and technical experts developing solutions for Caterpillar customers, its key to iden- tify critical skills and sources for talent. Eric Reiners, a program manager for automation and enterprise solutions at Caterpillar, attended the competition and stated, "The teams involved in the competition are multi-disciplinary and passionate about applying their classroom education in a hands-on environment. These are exactly the type of individuals Caterpillar needs in order to continue to meet our custom- ers' needs in a rapidly changing world." This year, Caterpillar brought its Com- mand for Dozing Operator Station (a long distance, semi-autonomous remote control system) giving students the opportunity to remotely operate a Cat D10T track-type tractor located at the Tucson Proving Grounds in Arizona. 2016 Robotic Mining Competition Winners Innovation Award University of Utah SSERVI Regolith Mechanics Innovation Award Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Caterpillar Autonomy Award 1st - University of Alabama 2nd – South Dakota School of Mines Communication Award University of Akron Systems Engineering Paper Award 1st – University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign 2nd – Oakton Community College 3rd – University of Illinois at Chicago Outreach Project Award 1st – University of North Dakota 2nd – Iowa State University 3rd – Oakton Community College Social Media and Public Engagement Award 1st – Iowa State University 2nd – Oakton Community College 3rd – University of Alabama Slide Presentation and Demonstration Award 1st – University of Alabama 2nd – University of North Dakota 3rd – Colorado School of Mines On-Site Mining Award 1st – Alabama Astrobotics, University of Alabama 2nd – Moon Pi, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 3rd – Oakton Robotics, Oakton Community College Joe Kosmo Award for Excellence University of Alabama Caterpillar Sponsors NASA Robotic Mining Competition By Mark S. Kuhar