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The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, Lillie-Beth Brinkman columnApr 16, 2013 (The Oklahoman - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The University of Oklahoma is one of about 80 locations worldwide that will take part in NASA's International Space Apps Challenge on Saturday and Sunday. Organizers of the hackathon, led by OU public relations Capstone students, have narrowed to 15 the list of challenges for Norman participants to solve out of the 50 offered by NASA. So when competitors start at 9 a.m. Saturday at OU's Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth, 201 David L. Boren Blvd., Suite 100, innovators will be finding solutions in hardware creation, software development, citizen science and data visualizations for one of these areas. Here is the list for Norman. Backyard Poultry Farmer: Create a backyard poultry farmer app with the objective of getting individuals and households back into agriculture through backyard chickens. Curiosity at Home: Bring awareness of the activities of the Curiosity Rover on Mars down to Earth. Wish you were here: Develop a compelling representation of weather on Mars. Hitch a ride to Mars: Create a CubeSat design and develop a mission that operates in the Mars environment and furthers our knowledge of Mars. 3-D Printing Contest: Create an open source 3-D model of space hardware for the European Space Agency that can be generated by a 3-D printer. The Blue Marble: Rethink space-based Earth imagery and make it more accessible to a broad audience through an app, platform or website. Tour of the Moon: Enable an interactive tour of the Moon by creating an application for the Web and/or an Android mobile device or other open-source mobile platform. Open ROV: Design and test an interface that allows control of an OpenROV, an open-source remotely operated submarine for underwater exploration, from a distance of more than 50 miles away. Lego Rovers: Design a remote operation system to control a Lego Robot through a computer or smartphone. "No Delays" Air Traffic Management: Create a crowd-sourced gaming and technology development platform to evolve the best ideas for future air traffic management. My Space Cal: Develop an app or a website that combines the past and future time schedules of satellites into a common calendar that the world can easily access. Incentives Tied to Utility Rates: Create a mobile app or website to help consumers find relevant incentives, tax rebates, and savings for their energy efficiency and renewable energy efforts. Renewable Energy Explorer: Create an app or visualization that integrates wind, solar, and geothermal energy data to show where combining them would have the greatest potential. Soil Testing Kit: Experiment with crowd-sourced soil testing approaches and develop a simple means for users to test their soil measurements using web/phone technology and provide feedback. Earth From Space: Create an application that allows users to overlay EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students) imagery on a 3-D model of earth. Source and more details: http://spaceappschallenge.org/challenge. To see more about the Norman event or to register before Saturday, go online to http://spaceappschallenge.org/location/norman and select the "Register Now" button above the map on the right side. -- Lillie-Beth Brinkman ------ ___ (c)2013 The Oklahoman Visit The Oklahoman at www.newsok.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |