An international robotics competition will be conducted at Puu Nene near Saddle Road next week rather than Mauna Kea due to new emergency rules on the mountain. ADVERTISING An international robotics competition will be conducted at Puu Nene near Saddle
An international robotics competition will be conducted at Puu Nene near Saddle Road next week rather than Mauna Kea due to new emergency rules on the mountain.
The Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems started the annual event last year at its “Planetary Analog” site in the Hai Wahine valley less than a mile from the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station.
But due to new emergency rules put in place on the mountain in response to protests against the Thirty Meter Telescope, the Hilo-based aerospace agency wasn’t able to get a permit from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources for the site. “That site is closed for this year,” PISCES wrote in a fact sheet for the competition.
Instead, DLNR granted a permit for another location near the puu. “It’s not ideal, but it’s better than canceling it,” said John Hamilton, PISCES’ test logistics manager.
During the competition, teams remotely control their robots from Hilo and perform space-related tests that mimic mining of lunar material.
Six teams, including one from the University of Hawaii at Hilo, will participate.
One team will travel from as far away as Colombia.
Teams will arrive Saturday and will host a public exhibition from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday at Hilo bayfront.
An awards ceremony will be conducted Thursday.
The event is called PRISM, which stands for PISCES Robotic International Space Mining competition.
For more information, visit http://pacificspacecenter.com/prism-competition.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
