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The original Aurora Robotics Lab logo, made in Inkscape.

Welcome to the Aurora Robotics Wiki

Welcome to the official wiki for Aurora Robotics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks! Our team focuses on the research, design, and development of autonomous robotics platforms (like LAMP) for extreme environments, particularly the Moon.

About Us

The Aurora Robotics Team is a multidisciplinary group of students and faculty working on various projects aimed at advancing robotics technology for lunar operations. Our team collaborates with NASA and other partners through challenges and grants to explore solutions for challenges in lunar mining, habitat construction, and autonomous navigation.

Current Projects

• LAMP (Lunar, Autonomous, Modular, Platform): A highly modular robotic platform designed to serve as the hands of the LUMIN control system. LAMP is being developed to be capable of executing a wide range of tasks on the lunar surface.
• LUMIN (LUnar Mining and Infrastructure Network): The overarching control software for all lunar operations. LUMIN acts as the central command system, using LAMP robots to create a functional operational network and managing tasks ranging from autonomous construction to resource distribution.
• LUMINSim: A lunar robotic simulator for LUMIN built in Godot 4.4 used to develop LUMIN software and test LAMP robot designs.

Previous Projects

Check out the project archives page to see previous projects Aurora Robotics has done.

Our Mission

Our mission is to develop largely open-source robotics solutions that address lunar challenges. By building autonomous systems and control networks (LAMP and LUMIN), we aim to contribute to the advancement of human presence on the Moon and beyond, and even in remote places here on Earth.

Long Term, our vision is:

1. Drop off a few LAMP robots and some equipment in a remote location (on Earth, the Moon, or beyond).
2. Autonomously (through LUMIN) explore and begin developing basic infrastructure (cleared paths, basic equipment/structure setup).
3. Begin mining, refining, and preparing resources for expansion.
4. Build human-ready structures from the ground up.

Due to the simplicity and modularity of LAMP, our vision includes a point where a couple LAMP robots, with assisting equipment, can develop more LAMP robots, equipment, and infrastructure autonomously, potentially allowing us to remotely colonize entire planets, then their moons, then their star systems and beyond, just by sending a couple robots that way. Then, the LUMIN system can coordinate sending resources back to Earth or inhabited planets (from hard-to-inhabit locations), or humans can move right in (to more habitable locations).

Get Involved

We welcome students from all backgrounds to join the Aurora Robotics Team. Regardless of your experience in robotics, programming, mechanical design, if you have an interest in anything you see here, we can find a place for you on our team. Reach out to learn more about how you can get involved in our projects!

See more at auroraroboticslab.com