The main task for ERC participants is to design and build a Mars rover, whose capabilities are tested in several competitions. These are tasks in the areas of science (verification of a scientific hypothesis, collection and analysis of surface and post-drilling samples), navigation (reaching designated points and taking pictures using a drone), maintenance (demonstrating the ability to operate the rover's various components), probing (locating and moving probes) and presentation (presenting the rover and the solutions used to the judges). The competitions are modelled on real missions of space agencies such as NASA or ESA and take place on a Martian track - Marsyard - a space designed by experts to simulate a fragment of the Red Planet.

Students from the Warsaw University of Technology are working hard to present themselves as well as possible in the finals of the tenth anniversary edition of the European Rover Challenge.

SKA Robotics has been developing its rover for four years. Sirius II has competed and continues to compete in various competitions - apart from the ERC, these include the Anatolian Rover Challenge and the University Rover Challenge. It is always an opportunity for students to test their engineering ideas against other teams from around the world.

- The most recent projects added to our rover include a puppet with which we can control the robotic arm, a new autonomous navigation system and an IKAR drone that supports Sirius' operations from the air - explain Franciszek Grot and Miłosz Kurtysiak from the SKA Robotics team.

The rover of the SKA Robotics team

In the KNR Rover Team, work on the rover has gained momentum thanks to the many new members who have joined the Robotics Scientific Circle in the current academic year. The team is currently focusing on fine-tuning all the systems of the rover and preparing it for all the tasks that will await at the competition.

- Our milestones this year are the new drive units - last year they were the ones that let us down - the joint assembly system for the manipulator and the drill, and the applications for controlling the rover and its systems - says Mikołaj Stasiak of the KNR Rover Team.

KNR Rover Team rover

The European Rover Challenge 2024 will take place from 6-8 September on the grounds of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. In addition to the competition, the event also includes an industry conference and science and technology demonstrations.