There are just over
two weeks left to the beginning of the first European Rover Challenge
competition, in which 17 rovers designed by teams from the entire world will
take part. Members of the Wrocław University of Technology “Off-Road”
Scientific Circle with their “Scorpio” rover also prepare for the event.
European Rover Challenge is the European
edition of the prestigious University Rover Challenge, organized in the USA.
This year, the competition will be organized for the first time. It will be
held on 5th and 6th September in Podzamcze close to the
town of Chęciny (Świętokrzyskie Province, Poland). Future editions will also
take place in Poland and will be organized by Mars Society Polska.
17 student teams (this is the number that has
ultimately confirmed their participation) from Bangladesh, Egypt, India,
Columbia, the USA, and Poland will come with their rovers to the artificial
desert at the “Leonardo da Vinci” Regional Science-Technology Centre. Like in
the URC competition, they will have to cope with four difficult tasks. Their
machines will have to negotiate hills, collect and examine a sample of soil in
search for various forms of life, help an injured astronaut and repair a broken
down device.
The teams control the rovers remotely, using
only the view from three cameras located in various parts of the rover,
information from sensors allowing to examine atmospheric pressure, temperature,
and humidity, and GPS location data.
“These are not machines that will be sent on
Mars. But they can be used as test platforms for devices, designed in various
parts of the world, that will go to Mars.” – explained Łukasz Wilczyński from
Mars Society Polska in an interview for the “Nauka w Polsce” website.
Members of the Wrocław University of Technology
“Off-Road” Scientific Circle are also preparing for the ERC. Last year, their
“Scorpio” rover was a runner-up in the American URC competition, collecting 401
points (out of possible 500), being overtaken only by another Polish team from
the Białystok University of Technology. This year, our students built a new
rover improving the elements that failed in the previous one during URC, as
well as adding new elements. For example, in the new “Scorpio” it is possible
to install any commercial module, such as 3D mapping systems, or a module with
sensors that allows the imaging of the surroundings in 3D.
The work on the new “Scorpio” is almost
finished. The rover itself will have a weight of about 30 kg, and with all the
extra equipment – about 40-45 kg. Interestingly enough, its tyres are not made
of rubber but of cordura, a fabric used mainly in outdoor backpacks. And the
interior of the tyres, instead of compressed air, is filled with styrofoam
beads.
The cost of building the vehicle, according to
first estimations, amounted to ca. 30 000 PLN.
During the last weeks, the students have spent
a few or even over a dozen of hours in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
laboratory, working on the rover. “It takes us a lot of work.” – admits Szymon
Dzwończyk – “But thanks to it, we also learn a lot.”
Lucyna RógTranslation:
Dariusz Więcławski
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