Can HP Z Workstations Help Improve Life in Space? HP and Intel Tap Engineering Minds to Find Out

When HP declared its mission was to make life better for everyone, everywhere, no one likely considered that “everywhere” might extend past boundaries of the Earth’s atmosphere.

HP’s lineup of high-performance mobile workstations, called ZBooks, are among the technology tools that are found not only on the International Space Station (ISS), but also on the ground at Mission Control.

HP announced that it’s partnering with Intel to launch an innovative new contest, the “Life in Space” Design Challenge, which will tap some of the brightest engineering minds at universities across the U.S. to develop a product that can improve the lives of astronauts in space. 

Undergraduate student teams from prestigious engineering schools across the country will be outfitted with HP ZBook Studio Mobile Workstations, powered by Intel® Core i7® processors, to help them design a manufacture-able product to improve life in space for our astronauts.

“We’re looking to the country’s brightest engineering minds to put HP’s ZBook technology to work by designing and prototyping a product that will make life better for the astronauts on the ISS,” said Lisa Baker, Director, Business & Personal Systems Marketing at HP. “ZBook Studio Mobile Workstations will enable their imaginations to soar, while offering the high-performance specs to make their creations come to fruition.”

Maintaining relatively comfortable living and working conditions while on the ISS is something NASA’s been grappling with ever since the first crew arrived in 2000. Questions from how to help astronauts maintain their physical and mental health to the quality and variety of the vacuum-sealed food they subsist upon might spark a revolutionary new product idea.

About the contest
HP and Intel are engaging with student teams from Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, University of Texas, Oregon State University, Arizona State University, Virginia Tech University and Clemson University for the challenge.

During the first phase of the contest, teams of five students from each school will determine their design and provide a conceptual sketch showcasing their idea as well as a brief team video.

At the end of the month, they’ll submit a work-in-progress CAD (computer assisted design) file of their idea. In the next and final phase in mid-March, the teams will submit fully-rendered CAD files and a video that explains the design overview and finer points of their product vision.

In late March, a judging panel made up of representatives from HP and Intel will narrow down the participant list to three finalists and opens up the voting to the public via social media. Winners will be announced in early April.

Each member of the winning team will receive:

• One HP ZBook Studio Mobile Workstation with Intel® Core i7® processor
• Thunderbolt™ 3 dock with notebook bag
• A four-day trip to Orlando including a tour of NASA’s Cape Canaveral and a day at Epcot for an exclusive HP Mission Mars Experience

Workstations on the frontlines
The powerful desktops, used by creative types to render, store and send massive files such as detailed architectural plans or CGI dinosaurs in major motion pictures, have long been the reliable workhorses for designers, engineers, architects and—yes, astronauts.

They were selected by NASA for their impressive specs, which combine top performance, reliability, innovation and durable design, for a truly stellar work experience—no matter if the office is in a cubicle or located 200 miles above the surface of the Earth.

See full contest rules here: www.hp.com/go/lifeinspaceofficialrules.