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Try Your Programming Skills In Space: DARPA Satellite Programming Challenge

Posted by Unknown on from the geeks-in-space dept.

First time accepted submitter null action writes "Want to have your code run on a satellite in space? Take a look at this. MIT Space Systems Laboratory and TopCoder are hosting a DARPA competition to create the best algorithm for capturing a randomly tumbling space object. Contestants in the Zero Robotics Autonomous Space Capture Challenge will compete in online simulations, and four finalists will have their algorithms tested aboard the International Space Station on small satellites called SPHERES. 'In this challenge, you have no advance knowledge of how it will be rotating. We're pushing the limits of what we can do with SPHERES and we hope to break new ground with this challenge,' said Jake Katz of MIT."

4 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. For free? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So they just hope someone will come and make a very complex program for almost nothing (up to $1000 travel reimbursment if you go to MIT to see the test).

  2. Emulator download? by capnchicken · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is there a SPHEREs emulator that you can plug the C code into? I tried reading some of the links and they included tutorials in basic math, physics, and programming, details on the API, and suggestions to download MS Visual C++ Express for coding in C, but I couldn't find where I would plug C code into running this in an emulated or simulated environment for testing. With all of these basics outlined I would have figured there would be an executable or library somewhere to download.

    --
    A libertarian shat on my carpet once. Claimed the free market would sort it out. -Ford Prefect(8777)
    1. Re:Emulator download? by ardiri · · Score: 4, Informative

      http://www.zerorobotics.org/documents/10429/11067/IDE+Tutorial.pdf

      seems you do everything online, requires adobe flash for you to run simulations. you edit, compile and execute (simulate) code online.

    2. Re:Emulator download? by Zentakz · · Score: 3, Informative

      If I can only access the simulator online, and I can only copy paste my C code into a flash window "IDE", then this sounds pretty dead in the water already. No thanks.

      Disclaimer: I'm involved with the project. Coding and project management is online in a JS-based IDE. The flash component is for viewing the results of the simulation in 3D. Also, we're working on adding 2D charts/plots to be deployed before this starts. The editor has evolved from a simplified IDE targeted at high school students and constrained in ways to make the code compatible with the satellite hardware, so be prepared for some limitations. At the same time, there's really quite a lot you can do.