Tegra 3 Could Be Going Into Space
Nvidia’s Tegra 3 SoC could be going to the moon in 2012 as part of Google’s Lunar X-PRIZE competition. One of the candidates, a private team named Team Synergy Moon, plans to use multiple Tegra platforms to create 2 rovers capable of moving across the lunar landscape.
So what is Google’s Lunar X PRIZE? It’s a $30 million contest for the first privately funded team to send a rover to the moon.
“A total of $30 million in prizes are available to the first privately funded teams to safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon, have that robot travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send video, images and data back to the Earth,” the Lunar X PRIZE site states.
Tegra 3 Chosen as the Platform for Synergy Moon Rovers
To develop their rovers, Team Synergy Moon collaborated with Martin Peniak, a young scientist known for his work on the Mars Rover Simulator developed in conjunction with the European Space Agency. Peniak reportedly chose to use a Tegra 3 platform after reading an article about a neural network using Nvidia GPU acceleration. After that, Peniak chose Nvidia’s CUDA technology as a basis for the rovers’ development and primary AI.
As shown on , the Tesla Prospector will be the one that complies with the contest’s 500 meter minimum requirement while taking rock/dust samples and sending pictures and data back to earth. The team’s other rover, the Tesla Surveyor, will focus more on the observational side, containing twin HD cameras while gliding across the lunar surface like a silver ball.
Tegra 3 Allows “Virtual Excursion” of Moon
“Both rovers feature an internet based control system that will allow tourists, scientist and prospectors to take control of the rovers for a virtual excursion on the moon,” the team says. “Both the Telsa Prospector and Surveyor will be capable of autonomous operations, able to take care of themselves and carry out exploration missions on their own, saving their observations for later transmission to earth or streaming near real time video of their adventures. The Tesla Prospector will also carry a set of microbots, that will carry out specialized scientific and artistic projects.”
If Team Synergy Moon wins the contest, the rocket sending a manned orbiter, along with a moon lander containing the two robots, will launch in December 2012. I’m sure Nvidia will be cheering them on as it is great publicity for the new Tegra 3 CPU.
