- 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

2024 

Micro-g NExT 

CHALLENGES 

2 LUNAR SURFACE 

OPERATIONS 

LUNAR FLAG 

Design a lunar flag, flagpole, and 

anchoring system that can be 

deployed on the lunar surface. 

4 ORION CREW 

SAFETY 

SEARCH AND RESCUE 

PLATFORM FOR 

OPTICAL TARGET 

RECOGNITION (SPOTR) 

Design a stationary autonomous 

system capable of meeting 

specific requirements to support 

open ocean search and rescue 

situational awareness. 

3

1 LUNAR SURFACE 

OPERATIONS 

HAND CARRIER FOR 

LUNAR EVA TOOLS 

Design a hand carrier for lunar 

EVA tools that can be adjusted to 

at least two different heights: 

short for transport and tall for 

working at the sampling site. 

LUNAR SURFACE 

OPERATIONS 

LUNAR MAPBOOK 

HOLDER 

Design a mapbook and holder 

for lunar EVAs with adjustability 

in height, forward and aft tilt, 

and planar rotation. 

Learn more at microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov 

www.nasa.gov 
 

 

 

 

MICRO-G NEXT 2024 DESIGN CHALLENGES 

Challenge 1: Hand Carrier for Lunar EVA Tools ......................................................................... 2 

Challenge 2: Lunar Flag ................................................................................................................ 4 

Challenge 3: Lunar Mapbook Holder ........................................................................................... 6 

Challenge 4: Search and Rescue Platform for Optical Target Recognition (SPOTR) .................. 9 

NASA’s Micro-g Neutral Buoyancy Experiment Design Teams (Micro-g NExT) challenges undergraduate students to 

design, build, and test a tool or device that addresses an authentic, current space exploration challenge. The overall 

experience includes hands-on full-scale engineering design, test operations, and public outreach. Throughout Micro-g 

NExT, students submit a proposed design before completing a preliminary design review, test equipment data package, 

and test readiness review to review boards of NASA employees. Test operations are conducted in the lunar analog testing 

environment of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL). Professional NBL divers will test the tools and students will 

direct the divers from the Test Conductor Room of the NBL facility. Micro-g NExT provides a unique opportunity to 

contribute to NASA's missions as the design challenges are identified by NASA engineers as necessary in space 

exploration missions. The 2024 Micro-g NExT challenges focus on Orion crew safety and lunar extravehicular activities 

(EVA) operations during the Artemis missions. 

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NASA Micro-g NExT 

Challenge 

Lunar Surface Operations 

Hand Carrier for Lunar EVA Tools 

Background 

NASA is challenged to go forward to the Moon during 

the Artemis missions. Artemis III astronauts will collect 

geological lunar samples during extravehicular activities 

(EVAs) using a suite of tools such as scoops, rakes, and 

extension handles. To transport tools to various sampling 

sites on the lunar surface, the astronauts will need a hand 

carrier. The carrier must be short enough to comfortably 

carry while walking long distances without hitting the 

ground but be adjustable to a taller height to allow the 

astronaut to access the tools on the carrier without 

kneeling. This requires an EVA-adjustable mechanism 

to allow the astronaut to easily select a comfortable 

height to position the tools. The mechanism must be 

dust-tolerant to remain usable in the dusty lunar 

environment, and it must be secure when adjusted to 

each intended height (i.e. no tipping, collapsing, etc.). 

Find a reliable, dust-tolerant, and ergonomically friendly 

way to store and carry tools on a hand carrier with 

adjustable height. 

Objective 

Design a hand carrier for lunar EVA tools that can be 

adjusted to at least two different heights: short for 

transport and tall for working at the sampling site. Finer 

adjustment capability is permitted as long as it is easily 

executed by a suited astronaut during an EVA. The 

adjustment system must be dust-tolerant, so carefully 

consider the materials and motions to be used in the 

mechanism. 

Focus Areas 

Materials science, geology, ergonomics, biomechanics, 

mechanical engineering 

Assumptions 

• The subject will be weighed out to near-lunar 

gravity (1/6 of Earth’s) and can walk on the 

bottom of the NBL pool floor. 

• The device will be tested in two phases: 

o Underwater at the Neutral Buoyancy 

Laboratory (NBL) 

o Dry testing environment with lunar 

simulant 

Hardware to Provide 

• 1 full Hand Carrier with locations to mount tools 

and dust-tolerant height adjustment mechanism. 

o NASA will provide information about 

options for mounting tools to the hand 

carrier. 

o Do not build geology tools. NASA will 

provide lunar EVA geology tools when you 

arrive at the NBL during test week. NASA 

will provide information about the tools 

your carrier must interface with. 

• 1 Mechanism-only portion of the hand carrier. 

o This will be used for dust testing (dry). 

Requirements (continued next page) 

1 An adjustable-height, dust-tolerant hand carrier for 

lunar EVA tools shall be produced. 

2 Mass of the empty, fully assembled hand carrier shall 

not exceed 10 lbs in 1G Earth gravity. 

3 

For a linear-actuating mechanism, force required to 

actuate shall not exceed 20 lbf (89 N). For a rotating 

mechanism, torque required to actuate shall not 

exceed 30 in-lb (3.4 Nm). 

4 Hand carrier shall support 9 lbm of lunar EVA tools. 

Note: this is 9 lbm measured in 1G Earth gravity. 

5 Loaded hand carrier shall maintain structural stability 

during carrying and deployment. 

6 

Hand carrier shall have a designated location and 

interface for each EVA tool (scoop, rake, extension 

handle, tongs). 

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Additional Considerations 

7 

At least two heights shall be available for adjustment. 

Additional intermediate heights may be provided if 

desired. 

8 

Carrying height: height of carrier in short 

configuration shall be between 16.5 and 20 in. to 

allow an astronaut to lift and carry the hand carrier 

9 

Deployed height: height of carrier in tall configuration 

shall be between 28 and 32 in. to allow an astronaut to 

easily access tools on the deployed carrier. 

10 

The empty, fully assembled hand carrier, when in its 

deployed configuration, shall fit within a volume of 

32 in. height x 25 in. width x 30 in. depth. 

11 

The empty, fully assembled hand carrier, when in its 

carrying configuration, shall fit within a volume of 20 

in. height x 25 in. width x 10 in. depth. 

12 The proposed design shall specify all materials the 

provided hardware will be made from. 

13 

The non-mechanism portions of the hand carrier may 

be made from any NBL-accepted materials. A waiver 

may be granted on a case-by-case basis*. 

(No regular PLA allowed. Tough PLA is 

okay.) 

14 All components of the mechanism shall be made of 

metal*. 

15 

The hand carrier, adjustment mechanism interface, 

and tool mounts shall be usable with EVA gloved 

hands (like heavy ski gloves). 

16 The hand carrier should not impede the astronaut’s

movement while being carried. 

17 The hand carrier and adjustment mechanism shall use 

only manual power. 

18 There shall be no holes or openings which would 

allow/cause entrapment of fingers on the device. 

19 There shall be no sharp edges on the device. 

• A mechanism is considered dust-tolerant when it 

can be buried in lunar regolith simulant and 

remain operable when removed. Two common 

approaches to achieving this result are (a) 

designing a mechanism that is open enough to 

allow dust to fall through it, and (b) designing a 

mechanism with tight tolerances to prevent dust 

from entering while using hard materials to 

crush any dust that does penetrate the 

mechanism. 

• The hand carrier mechanism will be buried and 

actuated in lunar simulant multiple times during 

the test. 

• Consider what the astronaut will grab onto to lift 

and carry the hand carrier. Handles should be 

suitable for use with a pressurized suit glove. 

Note: smooth, round, rod-like handles tend to 

cause hand fatigue in a spacesuit glove. 

• For requirement 16: Minimize the hand carrier 

bumping into the astronaut’s leg during carrying 

and walking. It may not be possible to fully 

eliminate this, but the most comfortable solution 

for the astronaut will be one that doesn’t

repeatedly strike their leg or cause them to 

inadvertently kick the carrier while walking. 

*Materials: The mechanisms must be made from metals 

because plastic components will become jammed and/or 

damaged by lunar simulant. The remaining parts of the 

hand carrier may be manufactured from both metals and 

non-metallic materials but must adhere to the NBL 

Approved Materials List. Your proposal must detail your 

selected materials and provide rationale for any materials 

not included on the NBL Approved Materials List. 

The NBL pool is ~86 °F and 40 ft. deep. 

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NASA Micro-g NExT 

Challenge 

Lunar Surface Operations 

Lunar Flag 

Background 

NASA is challenged to go forward to the Moon during 

the Artemis missions. Artemis III astronauts will 

conduct several extravehicular activities (EVAs) on the 

lunar surface. One important, symbolic task during 

EVAs will be to deploy a flag on the lunar surface. 

The American flags deployed during the Apollo 

missions were similar in height to the astronauts and 

were deployed in a method similar to a garden stake. 

While the Apollo design was simple and effective, 

Artemis III presents an opportunity to improve upon the 

design, including increasing height, improving stability, 

and making deployment easier. To fit in the flight 

vehicle, the flag must be collapsible to a small volume, 

while remaining easy to deploy. 

Develop a reliable, stable, and ergonomically friendly 

flag that can be deployed quickly on the lunar surface. 

Objective 

Design a lunar flag, flagpole, and anchoring system that 

can be deployed on the lunar surface. The flag must 

remain standing vertically when subjected to axial and 

side loads. The flag must also be collapsible to a small 

volume to fit on the flight vehicle; carefully consider the 

materials and mechanisms used to ensure a suited 

astronaut can assemble the flag in dusty conditions. 

Focus Areas 

Materials science, geology, ergonomics, biomechanics, 

mechanical engineering 

Assumptions 

• The subject will be weighed out to near-lunar 

gravity (1/6 of Earth’s) and can walk on the 

bottom of the NBL pool floor. 

• The flagpole and flag will be tested underwater 

at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) 

• The flag will be tested underwater in a barrel of 

sand 3 ft. in diameter and 3 ft. deep. 

Hardware to Provide 

• 1 Lunar Flag Assembly, including flag, flagpole, 

and anchoring device 

Requirements (continued next page) 

1 A structurally stable, easily deployed flag for lunar 

EVA shall be developed. 

2 Mass of the full flag assembly shall not exceed 10 lbs. 

in 1G Earth gravity. 

3 

For any mechanisms used: 

For a linear-actuating mechanism, force required to 

actuate shall not exceed 20 lbf (89 N). For a rotating 

mechanism, torque required to actuate shall not 

exceed 30 in-lb (3.4 Nm). 

4 All mechanisms used shall be dust tolerant. 

5 The flag shall remain deployed vertically and 

anchored without the use of an operator. 

6 The flag shall be deployable from its stowed 

configuration in 10 minutes or less. 

7 When deployed, lunar flag shall remain anchored 

when pulled upward with a 10 lb. force. 

8 

When deployed in the ground, lunar flag shall remain 

anchored when pulled laterally from the top of the 

flagpole with a 10 lb. force. 

9 

A 1 in. tether loop shall be included at the top of the 

flagpole for use in applying axial and side loads 

during testing. 

10 The flag shall have a method of remaining unfurled in 

the absence of wind. 

11 Height of the deployed flag shall be no less than 96 

in. and no more than 120 in. 

12 Flag size shall be 3 ft. x 5 ft. 

13 Flag shall not touch the ground during deployment 

operations or once deployed. 

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14 

Flag shall be the flag of the institution the student 

team is from. For any multi-institution teams, please 

contact jsc-reducedgravity@nasa.gov for guidance. 

15 

Flag assembly shall be collapsible into an EVAcompatible stowed configuration* that fits within a 

volume of 48 in. x 12 in. x 8 in. 

16 The proposed design shall specify all materials the 

provided hardware will be made from. 

17 All materials used must be on the NBL Approved 

Materials List**. A waiver may be granted on a caseby-case basis. 

(No regular PLA allowed. Tough PLA is 

okay.) 

18 Stress analysis and physical testing shall be conducted 

on the flagpole and anchoring system to ensure the 

materials and design are properly selected to ensure 

no structural damage occurs. You are expected to 

show stress analysis in the proposal. Physical 

testing may be done later. 

19 Factor of safety of at least 1.25 shall be used in stress 

analysis and physical testing. Specify the factor of 

safety used in the proposal. 

20 The flag, flagpole, and anchoring system shall be 

usable with EVA gloved hands (like heavy ski 

gloves). 

21 The flag, flagpole, and anchoring system shall use 

only manual power. 

22 There shall be no holes or openings which would 

allow/cause entrapment of fingers on the device. 

23 There shall be no sharp edges on the device. 

* EVA-compatible stowed configuration: This means 

the flag, flagpole, and anchoring system can be stowed 

in such a way that a suited astronaut can still deploy the 

flag. You cannot expect a suited astronaut to build the 

flag, i.e. do not plan to send small piece parts and have 

them assemble the flag from scratch. The flag should 

arrive on the moon (in this case, the NBL) assembled in 

a stowed configuration, ready for quick deployment. 

** Materials: Select materials that are appropriate for 

use underwater. The NBL pool is ~86 °F and 40 ft. deep. 

Additional Considerations 

• Forces the deployed flag must withstand 

• NASA will provide an EVA hammer to use in 

deploying the flag, if desired. Use of the 

hammer is not required. Note that no other tools 

will be available for assisting in flag 

deployment, and no additional tools (i.e. drills, 

etc.) may be provided by the student team. 

o The EVA hammer may not be used as a 

permanent fixture of the flag. 

• A mechanism is considered dust-tolerant when it 

can be buried in lunar regolith simulant and 

remain operable when removed. Two common 

approaches to achieving this result are (a) 

designing a mechanism that is open enough to 

allow dust to fall through it, and (b) designing a 

mechanism with tight tolerances to prevent dust 

from entering while using hard materials to 

crush any dust that does penetrate the 

mechanism. 

o For a flagpole, careful consideration is 

needed in the method of deploying the 

flag. Some mechanism types may bind 

in lunar dust or NBL testing media. 

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NASA Micro-g NExT 

Challenge 

Lunar Surface Operations 

Lunar Mapbook and Holder 

Background 

NASA is challenged to go forward to the Moon during 

the Artemis missions. Artemis III astronauts will walk 

across several kilometers of the lunar surface to reach 

areas of scientific interest. Navigation is a crucial task 

during extravehicular activity (EVA). Navigation aids 

such as mapbooks will be utilized on the lunar surface; 

the astronauts must be able to quickly and easily access 

the mapbook as well as understand the information 

presented. A user friendly mapbook and an adjustable, 

dust-tolerant mapbook holder are needed. The mapbook 

holder will mount the mapbook to a wheeled tool cart 

pushed by the astronauts on the lunar surface. The 

mapbook holder must be adjustable by an astronaut 

during the EVA to allow astronauts of different heights 

to view both the map (in the astronaut’s desired 

orientation) and the terrain ahead when pushing the tool 

cart. 

Develop user-friendly maps of a potential Artemis III 

landing site using publicly available data. Design a 

mapbook, and find a reliable, dust-tolerant, and 

ergonomically friendly way to attach and display the 

lunar mapbook when mounted to a wheeled tool cart. 

The mapbook itself may be permanently fixed to the 

mapbook holder or removable. 

Objective 

Design a mapbook, maps, and mapbook holder for lunar 

EVAs. The mapbook should attach (permanently or 

removable) to the mapbook holder with adjustability in 

height, forward and aft tilt, and planar rotation. 

Additional degrees of freedom may be incorporated if 

desired, as long as the mechanism remains dust-tolerant 

and adjustable by a suited astronaut. The adjustment 

system must be dust-tolerant, so carefully consider the 

materials and motions to be used in the mechanism. 

Focus Areas 

Materials science, geology/planetary science, 

ergonomics, biomechanics, mechanical engineering 

Assumptions 

• The subject will be weighed out to near-lunar 

gravity (1/6 of Earth’s) and can walk on the 

bottom of the NBL pool floor. 

• The device will be tested in two phases: 

o Underwater at the Neutral Buoyancy 

Laboratory (NBL) 

o Dry testing environment with lunar 

simulant 

Hardware to Provide 

• 1 Mapbook 

• 1 full Mapbook Holder capable of mounting to a 

tool cart 

o NASA will provide information about 

mounting to the tool cart. 

o NASA will provide the tool cart for NBL 

testing. 

• 1 Mechanism-only portion of the Mapbook 

Holder. 

o This will be used for dust testing (dry). 

Requirements (continued next page) 

1 

A height-, forward/aft tilt-, and rotation-adjustable, 

dust-tolerant mapbook holder for mounting to a 

lunar EVA tool cart shall be produced. 

2 A mapbook to interface with the mapbook holder 

shall be produced. 

3 Combined mass of the mapbook and holder shall 

not exceed 8 lb in 1G Earth gravity. 

4 

For linear-actuating mechanisms, force required to 

actuate shall not exceed 20 lbf (89 N). For a rotating 

mechanism, torque required to actuate shall not 

exceed 30 in-lb (3.4 Nm). 

5 

Mapbook holder shall be capable of securing the 

mapbook in place at any position within its range of 

motion, and maintain structural stability while 

undergoing minor dynamic loads from the tool cart 

being pushed across terrain (i.e. bouncing). 

6 

In the shortest configuration, mapbook holder shall 

position the mapbook to be 3 in. or less above the 

mounting point. 

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7 

In the tallest configuration, mapbook holder shall 

position the mapbook to be 13 in. – 16 in. above the 

mounting point. 

8 

Mapbook holder shall be adjustable to at least three 

distinct heights. More adjustability is allowed if 

desired, as long as all other requirements are met. 

9 Mapbook shall be able to tilt forward and aft ±20° 

when mounted on the mapbook holder. 

10 Mapbook shall be able to rotate in its plane ±90° 

when mounted on the mapbook holder. 

11 

The fully assembled mapbook and mapbook holder, 

interfaced together, shall fit within a volume of 

20 in. x 16 in. 16 in. The mapbook and mapbook 

holder may be placed in a stowed configuration to 

meet this requirement. 

12 

Maps in the mapbook shall be a minimum of 8.5 in. 

x 8.5 in. and shall not exceed 16 in. x 16 in. Square 

or rectangular maps are acceptable. 

13 

Each map shall have a scale bar, feature identifiers, 

and a grid. Other navigational tools may be included 

as desired. 

14 The proposed design shall specify all materials the 

provided hardware will be made from. 

15 The non-mechanism portions of the mapbook holder 

may be made from any NBL-accepted materials. A 

waiver may be granted on a case-by-case basis*. 

(No regular PLA allowed. Tough PLA is 

okay.) 

16 All components of the mechanism shall be made of 

metal*. 

17 The mapbook, holder, and adjustment mechanism 

interface(s) shall be usable with EVA gloved hands 

(like heavy ski gloves). 

18 The mapbook, holder, and adjustment mechanism(s) 

shall use only manual power. 

19 The mapbook shall not use any electronic 

components. 

20 There shall be no holes or openings which would 

allow/cause entrapment of fingers on the device. 

21 There shall be no sharp edges on the device. 

*Materials: The mechanisms must be made from metals 

because plastic components will become jammed and/or 

damaged by lunar simulant. The remaining parts of the 

mapbook holder may be manufactured from both metals 

and non-metallic materials but must adhere to the NBL 

Approved Materials List. Your proposal must detail your 

selected materials and provide rationale for any materials 

not included on the NBL Approved Materials List. 

The NBL pool is ~86 °F and 40 ft. deep. 

Additional Considerations 

• A mechanism is considered dust-tolerant when it 

can be buried in lunar regolith simulant and 

remain operable when removed. Two common 

approaches to achieving this result are (a) 

designing a mechanism that is open enough to 

allow dust to fall through it, and (b) designing a 

mechanism with tight tolerances to prevent dust 

from entering while using hard materials to 

crush any dust that does penetrate the 

mechanism. 

• The mapbook holder mechanism will be buried 

and actuated in lunar simulant multiple times 

during the test. 

• The mapbook may be permanently fixed to the 

mapbook holder or removable. If removable, it 

should be easy to hold with an EVA-gloved 

hand. 

• Consider how maps relate to each other. Having 

multiple maps of one area showing different 

details can be highly valuable. Information you 

might include on maps: different terrain views, 

zoom levels/scale, horizon pictures, detailed 

views, etc. can be valuable information to 

include. 

Figure 1: Tool Cart showing approximate mapbook holder mounting 

location. 

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Figure 2: Suited astronaut pushing Tool Cart to show size comparison 

between a tall person and the Tool Cart. 

Students should plan to include a mount with holes in 

this pattern. They do not need to provide the screws 

unless they want to – we will plan to provide screws to 

mount the holders to the Tool Cart. Description of above 

image: two holes, sized to fit a #12 screw (recommend 

free fit clearance, so hole is 0.228 in.), spaced 1.75” 

apart. 

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NASA Micro-g NExT 

Challenge 

Orion Crew Safety 

Search and Rescue Platform for 

Optical Target Recognition (SPOTR) 

Background 

NASA has been challenged to go forward to the Moon 

with our Artemis Program, using Orion as the spacecraft 

to transport crew. During the ocean capsule landing 

sequence, multiple items are jettisoned from the capsule, 

which for safety reasons, creates a large keep-out area 

around the capsule landing zone. An autonomous system 

that is capable of imaging and identifying objects of 

interest while the capsule is in the water will help 

improve the situational awareness of Search and Rescue 

and response personnel. Primarily, the concepts designed 

in this year’s SPOTR challenge will be used to identify 

items of interest as would be present during an 

unassisted egress scenario from the Orion capsule 

(astronauts floating wearing an underarm life preserver, 

astronaut mulit-person life raft, etc). 

Objective 

Supporting open-ocean search and rescue situational 

awareness, design a stationary autonomous system 

capable of meeting the following requirements: 

Functional 

• Capable of autonomously identifying and 

tracking objects of interest including: 

o Orange colored life-ring 

o Mannequin wearing orange-colored life 

preserver unit (LPU) 

o Multi-person life raft 

o Orion capsule mockup (WEST) located 

on far end of pool 

• Providing a live video stream to an operator 

laptop via wired ethernet or Wireless Wifi 

Connection 

• Provide “short data burst” notification of object

detection to an operator laptop 

o Text message – “<BLANK OBJECT> 

located” and picture of object detected 

Physical 

• Camera fixture mounted on tripod no greater 

than 36 inches in height from pool deck 

• Include commercial-off-the-shelf camera (i.e. 

GoPro, Web Camera, etc) 

• Electronics / processing elements fit on a folding 

table on the pool deck and accept 120V AC 

power input 

Focus Areas 

This challenge is primarily an electrical engineering/ 

software engineering-focused effort, including the 

following focus areas and disciplines: 

• Software Engineering / Coding – students 

should be proficient in free/open-source 

software tools such as Python, C++, etc.) and be 

able to utilize toolsets within such programming 

languages appropriate for image detection, 

processing and characterization of full-motion 

video (FMV) or static images taken by student 

camera systems 

• Single-Board Computer Programming –

students should have some basic experience with 

single board computers such as Raspberry Pi, 

Arduino, etc. for physical hosting of software 

scripts and image processing due to portability 

requirements 

• Image / video Object Recognition & Artificial 

Intelligence – students will learn via this 

challenge basic image processing and 

recognition techniques such as You Only Look 

Once (YOLO) and other deep learning 

techniques 

• Basic Electronics Circuitry – basic electrical 

engineering skills for prototype circuit board 

development may be required for overall system 

packaging, etc. 

Team composition should include students strong in 

electrical engineering and software coding, as the 

challenge is primarily electrical engineering/software 

engineering focused. 

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Open source/free resources are available online and Requirements 

teams are encouraged to experiment with novel low-cost 

techniques for object recognition and characterization. 

Software Developer Kits (SDKs) and Python 

programming toolboxes include (but are not limited to): 

• https://gopro.github.io/OpenGoPro/demos/pytho 

n/sdk_wireless_camera_control 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2Hq4jDW 

unk 

• https://towardsdatascience.com/yolo-objectdetection-with-opencv-and-python21e50ac599e9 

Assumptions 

This challenge assumes that NASA will provide the 

following items: 

• Photo library of target items for training of 

image recognition scripts 

• Floating items in Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory 

(NBL) during test week 

Cost/Project Management 

• Utilize commercial-off-the-shelf 

hardware/software to largest extent possible, for 

example using laptops, Raspberry Pi / Arduino 

for on-board computing, etc. 

• Teams should focus on programming and 

electrical engineering elements of the design 

challenge, requiring some undergraduate-level 

experience in programs such as Python and You 

Only Look Once (YOLO) image processing 

techniques. 

Anticipated Costs/Supplies Needed 

• Single Board Computer (Raspberry Pi, Arduino, 

etc) - ~$100.00 – $150.00 

• Camera (GoPro, webcam) - $100.00 - $300.00 

• Pelican Case - ~$60.00 

• Camera Tripod - ~$40.00 

Safety 

1 

Camera systems shall use commercially 

available tripod systems with demonstrated 

stability appropriate with any student-developed 

camera systems 

2 Camera and processing hardware shall be splash 

proof for poolside use 

3 

Camera / sensing systems shall not use laser / 

sonar or other radiofrequency (RF) techniques 

for object detection 

4 

The SPOTR control system shall power on and 

begin operations via single switch 

throw/actuation 

Operational 

1 

Capable of autonomously identifying and 

tracking objects of interest including: 

• Orange colored life-ring 

• Mannequin wearing orange-colored life 

preserver unit (LPU) 

• Multi-person life raft Orion capsule 

mockup (WEST) located on far end of 

pool 

2 

Provide image detection of selectable item 

within 60 seconds of user selection 

i.e. user selects “life raft” and system should 

provide detection of liferaft, notice of detection, 

and image of selected life raft with life raft 

outlined in photo within 60 seconds 

3 

Provide “short data burst” notification of object

detection to an operator laptop 

• Textual message –

o “<BLANK OBJECT> located”

o Timestamp Photo of item 

4 

The SPOTR control system shall not require 

external calibration or warmup time greater than 

60 seconds from control system power-on 

5 

The SPOTR system shall prioritize each known 

object based on the prioritization table provided 

by NASA. 

6 

The SPOTR system shall visually track items of 

interest, based on their priority, and stream video 

to an operator laptop via wired ethernet cable 

between processing hardware and laptop. 

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Test Setup 

Students will place camera on tripod on one end of the 

NBL, oriented such that the pre-placed Field of View 

(FOV) centerline marker is in the center of the camera’s 

field of view. Various items such as an orange life ring 

and mannequin wearing an orange life preserver will be 

either placed or already floating in the NBL and the 

camera system will autonomously detect, characterize, 

and report on items. 

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