Project Details

Awards & Nominations

Mnemosine has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!

Global Nominee

The Challenge | The Memory-Maker

Traditional electronics do not work well on Venus, and memory is one of the biggest challenges. Your challenge is to develop mechanical approaches to accomplishing tasks normally done electronically within the context of space exploration.

Mnemosidic Box

The Mnemosidic Box works with a magnetic induction mechanical memory system that stores the data collected from the surface of Venus. This box will be coupled to a rover, with rods that when pressed reverse the polarity of the motor.

Mnemosine
  • BACKGROUND

WE CHOSE THIS THEME BECAUSE THE STUDY OF THE CURRENT CONDITIONS OF THE SURFACE OF VENUS CAN HELP US TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE INTENSE GLOBAL WARMING OCCURRED IN THIS PLANET WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ARISEMENT OF SUCH ADVERSE CONDITIONS ON THE ENVIRONMENT. HAVING THAT IN MIND, THE STUDY OF VENUS' SURFACE WILL PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING ON EARTH. BUT THE EXTREME CONDITION MADE IT VERY HARD TO USE ELECTRONIC MEMORY, SO WE CREATED A MECHANICAL APPROACH TO SOLVE THIS.


  • WHAT IT DOES?

OUR PROJECT, CALLED MNEMOSIDIC BOX, IS AN INNOVATOR SYSTEM OF MECHANICAL MEMORY THAT USES MAGNETIC INDUCTION TO STORE DATA. SUMMARIZING THE OPERATION: THE MECHANICAL ARM OF A NASA'S ADAPTED ROVER WILL PENETRATE THE GROUND AND A SPECIFIC CHEMICAL COMPOSE AT ITS TIP WILL REACT WITH A TARGET CHEMICAL COMPOSE PRESENT ON SURFACE. THIS REACTION WILL CHANGE THE TEMPERATURE ON THE TIP, WHICH WILL SEND AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL THROUGH THE ARM TO THE MNEMOSIDIC BOX. ONCE THERE, THE ELECTRICAL SIGNAL WILL RUN THROUGH A WIRE THAT IS ENROLED IN A RING OF FERRITE, INDUCING A MAGNETIC FIELD WHICH WILL BE DETECTED BY A MAGNETIC SENSOR AND STORE THE DATA IN A REGISTER MADE OF A SIMPLE CIRCUIT OF SILICON CARBET. THEN THE DATA COLLECTED WILL BE TAKEN BY HIGH ALTITUDE BALOONS TO DRONES, A METHOD SHOWN ON NASA'S DATA.

WE ALSO PROJECTED A SYSTEM OF RODS THAT ALLOWS THE ROVER TO REVERSE. THE FUNCTIONING IS VERY SIMPLE: 4 RODS OF METAL WILL POSITIONED ON ALL SIDES OF THE ROVER, IN A WAY THAT WHEN IT HITS AN OBSTACLE, THE ROD IS PRESSED AND THIS MOVEMENT IS CONVERTED BY INTERNAL ARTICULATIONS IN A GIRATORY MOVEMENT OF A KEY THAT INVERTS MOTOR'S POLARITY, MAKING IT ROTATE BACKWARDS. IN OTHER WORDS, THE ROVER WILL ROAD BACK.

OUR MAJOR CHALLENGE WAS TO INNOVATE IN THE USE OF A DISUSED TECHNOLOGY TO SOLVE A CONTEMPORARY PROBLEM. OUR ACHIEVEMENT WAS CREATING AN INNOVATOR AND VIABLE PRODUCT, USING SIMPLE SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES THAT ALLOWS US TO SOLVE A COMPLEX PROBLEM.



  • NASA'S RESOURCES

WE USED NASA'S DATA ON VENUS'S CONDITIONS, PAST PROJECTS AND RESEARCHS, TO HAVE A MORE PRECISE IDEA OF HOW THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE CONDITIONS ON VENUS WORK (THE WIND SPEED, THE TEMPERATURE, THE COMPONENTS OF THE ACID RAIN) , AND TO ANALYZE THE POSSIBILITIES FOR THE MATERIALS AND THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WERE MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED WHEN USED IN THE MNEMOSIDIC BOX. THE ROVER SEEN IN OUR PROJECT, IS ALSO BASED ON NASA'S STUDIES AND ARTICLES ON AREE - AUTOMATON ROVER FOR EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS.


  • SPACE APPS OFFERS

THE GUIDANCE PROVIDED BY THE MENTORS, SUGGESTING IMPROVEMENTS, MAKING CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, AND PROVIDING TOOLS SUCH AS COMPUTERS, BLANK PAPERS, PENCILS AND A COMFORTABLE, QUIET AND CLEAN WORKROOM WERE VERY HELPFUL IN OUR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.


  • FUTURE PLANS

OUR FUTURE GOAL IS TO ADAPT THE MNEMOSIDIC BOX'S CAPACITY OF STORAGE AND ABILITY TO INTERPRETATE DATA: WITH EACH UPDATE, THE BOX WILL STORAGE MORE DATA AND WORK FASTER AND SMARTER.

THE MOTOR INVERTER WILL ALSO BE IMPROVED. WITH FUTURE UPDATES, THE ROVER'S ABILITY TO DEFLECT FROM OBSTACLES IS GOING TO GET MORE PRECISE, BESIDES THAT, THE 360° ROTATION WILL BE DONE MORE SMOOTHLY AND ACCURATELY.


  • BUILT WITH

IN OUR PROJECT'S DEVELOPMENT WE USED, TO DESIGN THE MNEMOSIDIC BOX AND THE ROVER, THE SOFTWARES AUTOCAD AND SKETCHUP.