Our Team:

The RPI Rock Raiders were originally formed to compete in the 2014 NASA Sample Return Challenge. Due to the end of that competition in 2016, the Rock Raiders have decided to refocus their efforts on the Mars Society's University Rover Challenge. For the last year, the team has been developing a new rover platform specifically designed for this competition. Our leadership has also been looking into other competitions for which our new platform may be adapted including the NASA Robotic Mining Competition.

Rock Raiders is an interdisciplinary team that brings together talented student engineers and scientists. The team is divided into four technical subteams: Science, Software, Electrical and Mechanical. Each member also assigned a soft-skill task to help manage the team, such as publicity or budgeting.

The team is extremely collaborative in nature. From weekly general body meetings and subteam meetings to daily open-shop sessions, every student has the opportunity to communicate with the team and present their progress. These meetings also ensure everyone is updated on what the team has accomplished, and what future steps are necessary to build the Mars rover. Additionally, we have an integrated online space utilizing Google Hangouts, Google Drive, Github, TeamGantt and Slack to share and track critical information. These collaborative efforts ensure the team is heading in the right direction in completing the robot.

Leadership: