Notice of "Space Elevator Climber x Robotics Competition (SPECxROC)"

[ Japanese ]

n the summer of 2019, the Japan Space Elevator Association (JSEA) will organize the competition 

event SPEC x ROC, that is the combination of climber lifting and robot activity. Robot will be lifted by 

a climber to the designated altitude, will descend to the ground from the height and do designated 

action on the ground. The English notation of the event is Space Elevator Climber x Robotics 

Challenge, and the abbreviation is SPECXROC.

Space elevator is the most promising as a mass transportation system connecting celestial body 

surface and the space including the earth. It was mere a dream, but the turning point was the 

discovery and analysis of carbon nanotube (CNT) by Mr. Sumio Iijima in 1991. The CNT is expected 

to be the cable material (tether) having the strength required for construction of the space elevator 

on earth. In 2009, the Japan Space Elevator Association commenced development experiments and 

competitions (Space Elevator Challenge = "SPEC") in which a tether made of aramid fibers hung 

from balloons and climbers run along the cable. In 2013, the climber reached altitudes up to 1,200 m 

and exceeding 100 km/h.

As the next step, we will not only raise and lower the climber itself, but also the challenge of loading 

cargo as a step of the mass transportation system. And the payload will be the robot as added value, 

instead simple load such as sandbags.

In this challenge, participants shall not only to lift a robot which weight is 8kg, but also shall consider 

elements such as the centroid, radio interference to the remote control of the loading device, and so on. 

There are several reasons for adopting a robot.

1)    At altitude of orbital station and other stations, when the space elevator is to be constructed, there 

     should be assembly works such as space photovoltaic power generation equipment, where the risk

     of exposure to cosmic rays is high, so it is conceivable that more robotic work will be utilized. 

     JSEA encourages the development of high mobility robots for space by incorporating it into the 

     competition.

2)    When the space elevator will be constructed with extra-terrestrial objects such as on Mars, it is 

     conceivable to throw the construction robot from the middle of the cable prior to the transportation 

     of the material for the construction of the ground part.

3)    It may be necessary to cooperate between device on the climber and on the cargo for loading, moving, 

     detaching, etc., the robot may be considered as a cargo side device.

4)    JSEA believe we can offer new challenging target for robot technology development.

Below is the outline of the competition. JSEA will inform you of detailed information from time to time.