The European Rover Challenge is the largest international Mars rover competition in Europe, held annually in Poland. The best academic teams from around the globe take part, testing their rovers in tasks inspired by real space missions. In this year’s edition, 25 teams competed, selected from over 100 applications from universities in countries including Poland, Spain, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, India, Egypt, and Turkey. The final round featured as many as five Polish teams, once again confirming the high level of Polish engineering.
This year’s winner was the Swiss team EPFL Xplore, representing the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, which achieved the highest overall score and impressed the jury with the precision and innovativeness of its design. Second place went to STAR Dresden e.V., representing Dresden University of Technology, while the hosts, AGH Space Systems from AGH University, secured third place.
The tasks faced by the teams were inspired by real challenges encountered daily by specialists from space agencies. The robots had to autonomously explore terrain, collect and secure samples for astrobiological analyses, perform precise servicing operations, and even collaborate with drones to search for objects in difficult environments. It was a test of both technology and teamwork.
“The competition was incredibly fierce, and its level rises year by year. It is a pleasure to see how we are shaping the next generations of engineers – both among the participants and the youngest of spectators. ERC is the only event in Europe that brings together the academic community, engineers, and the space industry with the general public. Our event has become a permanent fixture in the space sector’s calendar and a platform, where science, technology, and education come together in practice”, said Łukasz Wilczyński, President of the European Space Foundation, organizer of the ERC.
More information: European Rover Challenge