Project. Brokkr
Team. Tyson Phillips, Nazli Tatar, Tian Lou
Instructor. Guvenc Ozel, Benjamin Ennemoser, Mertcan Buyuksandalyaci
Date. Spring 2017
Location. Los Angeles, California
Site Selection
For the site selection, gathering material was the first hurdle. Hellas Planitia is a plain located within the huge, roughly circular impact basin. Hellas located in the southern hemisphere of the planet Mars. Hellas is the third or fourth largest impact crater and the largest visible impact crater known in the Solar System. This region is known for its strong winds draining down from the south polar plains into the Hellas Basin. During the southern summer they often cause regional sandstorms in this basin, and sometimes they can grow to global sandstorms, covering the entire surface of the planet. As it is the bottom of a basin, the storms always come from the same direction, we can utilize the dust storms and gather enough material from it.
We use magnets to gather iron dust form the storm. Electromagnets are used for weight-to-power ratios and precise control over magnetic strength and the shape of the magnetic field.
After the iron dust are gathered, high voltage electricity will pass through the material, where it will trace the optimized path to the ground, rapidly heating and solidifying the metal on its way down.
Robot Smith is designed to control the process of magnetism and electrocution. It is carried by the rover which is the main transportation tool on Mars.
Robot Smith
Robot Smith is made from eight equilateral triangle panels, each equipped with their own electromagnet and transformer. The electromagnets not only serve to collect material, but also grant him mobility to roll over his adjacent edges, like a die. The central system houses as well as a larger transformer, an anchor and spool of cable, which it will launch to ground itself before electrocuting and give the material a path to travel over.
Paneling System
Since this paneling system is repeatable over any flat or curved surface, it can be used to produce many different recognizable architectural elements. Without any previous build, smith can form the foundation of the project by directly solidifying martian soil in place. Likewise, and he begins to build vertically, he can use the previously built panels to hang from in order to build new panels for an enclosure.
He can build structural columns of any length or angle using the aforementioned anchor, and can build columns off of other columns as well, to produce a buttress. With the gathering of iron, we also anticipate a mixture of other materials to be dragged along such as silica. This presents an opportunity to, when electrified, produce glass beads throughout the panel which could create a recognizable difference in the lighting of the space
Architectural Design
The lander, then, acts as a service core, housing the air lock, kitchen, bathroom, and life support in the most protected area of the shell.
For the interior of the large space we wanted a long, circuitous pathway that displaced the monotony of living in a small space. As a result, the program is housed on a series of interconnected platforms which each have their own location inside the larger volume. Since the layout is so open, the pods are constructed to give each member a moment of privacy
