Pakistani Project among 10 at NASA International Space Apps Challenge 2015

One Pakistani project, RemoReboCon or #RRC, is in the top 10 amongst 949 projects from across the world, with the possibility of having a Pakistani app operating in space in the near future.

The Pakistani team has made it to the top 15 candidates for the People’s Choice Award at NASA International Space Apps Challenge 2015  and if their project gets enough public votes to finish in the top 5, it will go to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

What is International Space Apps Challenge?

nasa-spaceapp-challengeThe International Space Apps Challenge is an international mass collaboration focused on space exploration that takes place over 48-hours in cities around the world. The event embraces collaborative problem solving with a goal of producing relevant open-source solutions to address global needs applicable to both life on Earth and life in space.

It is a two-day hackathon where teams of technologists, scientists, designers, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, developers and students across the globe collaborate and engage with publicly available data to design innovative solutions for global challenges.

International Space Apps Challenge 2015 and Pakistani Project

The main goal of the challenge is to bring together sharp individuals from all over the world and engage them in the pursuit of finding solutions to real world problems. This year’s challenge had four areas: Earth, Outer Space, Humans and Robotics. The Challenge saw participants from over 55 countries. The local events were held in every tech-savvy country around the world, including Pakistan, at the Institute of Space Technology (IST), Islamabad.

A diverse group of competitors hailing from Pakistan’s top educational institutions gathered where NASA had provided them over 200 data sets. In a two-day hackathon, held from April 11th to April 12th, the participants went from prototype to a working design in alignment with NASA-designed challenges.

As part of NASA’s Incubator Innovator Program, a total of 949 projects from 133 countries were created. Two of them came from Pakistan: RRC and M-GLOVE.

One Pakistani project, RemoReboCon or #RRC, has made it to the top 15 candidates for the People’s Choice Award. If #RRC gets enough public votes to finish in the top 5, it will go to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Who are the people behind Pakistani project?

Pakistan's Naveed Ahsan and Zaki Shaheen among top 10 projects at NASA 2015 International Space Apps Challenge
Pakistan’s Naveed Ahsan and Zaki Shaheen among top 10 projects at NASA 2015 International Space Apps Challenge

The product of Pakistani team is in the top 10 amongst 949 projects from across the world, with the potential of having a Pakistani app operating in space in the near future.

The duo behind this incredible initiative, Naveed Ahsan and Zaki Shaheen, hail from Lahore. They are colleagues at Coeus Solutions GmbH, a Berlin-based software company. Both have 6+ years of software development experience and are iOS App specialists.

Naveed Ahsan is a Masters in IT from Punjab University College of Information and Technology (PUCIT).

Zaki Shaheen is a Computer Science graduate from FAST-NU Islamabad Campus and a Hackathon enthusiast, having participated recently in Startup Weekend, and Civic Hackathon Islamabad.

What is Remote Robot Connection (#RRC)?

RRC is an app that controls a simulation of a robotic arm. When implemented, a robotic arm can be operated remotely, reducing the risk to astronauts during spacewalks.

RemoRoboCon (RRC) Aims to enhance tele-manipulators on the mobile service system (MSS) on the ISS, specifically the Dextre (SPDM). We seek to find ways to use wearable tech to improve precision and motion of control by adapting the robots to use data from wearable tech and voice.

Courtesy: TVI

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About the Author: Akhtar Jamal

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