Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) President Dennis Berkey, left, walks with NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver to the competition field for the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) President Dennis Berkey talks to NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver prior to the kick off of the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at WPI in Worcester, Mass. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Chief Technologist Mason Peck, left, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) President Dennis Berkey, third from left, talk with WPI Robotics Resource Center Director and NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge Judge Ken Stafford at the edge of the playing field during the robotic challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. Teams in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge were tasked with building autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)