2011: AstroSPHERES
SPHERES-Zero-Robotics 2011 Challenge: AstroSPHERES finals took place on January 23, 2012.
Over 100 teams began the competition. After the 3-D simulation competition they formed
alliances of 3 teams each. The top 9 alliances reached the finals aboard the ISS (a total of 27
teams). A special award was announced for Team y0b0tics! from Montclair High School in New
Jersey for spearheading the leading protocol and setting the pace in the tournament. The
competition winners were:
- 1st- Alliance Rocket, Riverhill High School, Maryland
- 1 st- Storming Robots, New Jersey
- 1 st- The Pink Team, Rockledge High School, Florida
2012: RetroSPHERES
SPHERES-Zero-Robotics 2012 Challenge: RetroSPHERES was held on January 11, 2013, involving
over 200 High School students from around the world. This competition was the first SPHERES-
Zero-Robotics tournament involving European students through participation hosted by the
European Space Agency (ESA). The ISS finalist winners were:
United States Champions:
- 1 st- Mira Loma Matadors, Mira Loma High School, California
- 1 st- y0b0tics!, Montclair High School, New Jersey
- 1 st- Green Wrenches, Evergreen School District, Washington
European Champions:
- 1 st- Kathe in Space, Kaethe Kollwitz Oberschule, Germany
- 1 st- Sunday Programmers, Liceo SS E. Fermi, Italy
- 1 st- Herder-Berlin, Herder Gymnasium Berlin, Germany
PUBLICATION(S)
Liu J, Feenstra W, Saenz-Otero A, Magrane K. STEM education students touch space through
free robotics programming competition. 6th International Conference on Computer Supported
Education, Barcelona, Spain; April 1-3, 2014: 5.
Nag S, Katz JG, Saenz-Otero A. Collaborative gaming and competition for CS-STEM education
using SPHERES Zero Robotics. Acta Astronautica. February 2013;83:145-174. doi:
10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.09.006. [Also presented during 62nd IAC in Cape Town.]
Nag S, Heffan I, Saenz-Otero A, Lydon M. SPHERES Zero Robotics software development:
Lessons on crowdsourcing and collaborative competition. 2012 IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big
Sky, MT; 2012:1-17.