Next Step Robotics

Team Name: Next Step Robotics

Excavator Name: AME (Autonomous Mobile Excavator)

Team Leader: Marc Ciupitu

City, State: Houston, TX

Team Background:
The Next Step Robotics team was loosely formed in the summer of 2007, shortly after the completion of the last Lunar Regolith Challenge competition. Creating an autonomous robot to excavate lunar regolith, with a nice prize for a successful run, sounded like an interesting challenge, and the team members began meeting, talking and conceptualizing ideas in the fall of that year. The decision to formally enter the competition was made in the spring of 2008.
All of the members of the Next Step Robotics team have degrees in mechanical engineering but none had previous experience with robotics development prior to the Excavation Challenge. The design of a complex robot system, which was later named AME (Autonomous Mobile Excavator), was a learning experience for all.
The team logo was designed to be a symbol of optimistic support for the goal of returning men to the moon in the next decade for study and exploration.  The phrase "Take the Next Step", along with the lunar footprint image, makes obvious reference to the first steps made by NASA astronauts on the surface of the moon a generation ago, and our desire to see that course of exploration continued.