Rover Freya of BUT students brought 11th place from worldwide robotics competition

Totally exhausted but highly motivated. This is how the members of the Brno Mars Rover student team returned from the finals of the eleventh edition of the worldwide robotics competition European Rover Challenge (ERC), held at the end of August, where they participated as the only representatives of the Czechia. During their competition debut at the special venue in Krakow, Poland, they achieved an excellent 11th place out of 25 finalists with their rover named Freya. At the same time, the team from the Brno University of Technology placed second in two partial final tasks.

Brno Mars Rover members enjoyed the finals in Kraków and gained fresh motivation for further innovations. | Author: European Rover Challenge / KSAF

Eight competition tasks within a half-hour time limit, testing both technology and teamwork, were inspired by real challenges faced by space agencies. The robotic vehicles were to autonomously explore terrain, collect and secure samples for astrobiological analysis, perform precise servicing operations, or collaborate with drones to search for objects in difficult conditions.

In the dusty and rocky terrain with many elevations, prepared by the organizers of the world finals at the campus of Krakow's AGH University, students from Brno Technical University performed best in the tasks of autonomous drone flight navigation and timed sample collection with the rover's manipulator. "In both categories, we finished second. Although these placements were not officially announced, we are very proud of them, as well as our overall result," said Miloš Cihlář on behalf of the team after their return to Brno.

Freya, the BUT rover, during competition tasks. | Author: European Rover Challenge / KSAF

"After analyzing the points scored, we concluded that given the current capabilities of the rover and drone, we achieved the best possible placement. Despite great exhaustion, we are immensely motivated to continue and further develop the project. Thanks to the final participation, we now have specific ideas for improvements," added Stanislav Svědiroh, another member of Brno Mars Rover.

The student team from VUT would like to improve geological analysis of the simulated mission landing site environment or increase the rover’s autonomy for the next competition year. However, according to Svědiroh, minor changes will actually concern practically all existing components.

August preparations for the finals at the BUT campus. | Author: Jakub Rozboud

"What pleases us most about this success is seeing the motivation of all members of our team, who study at several faculties of BUT. Thanks to that, over the past year we have grown tremendously both professionally and personally, and participating in the competition finals was a well-deserved culmination of our long-term work," agreed Svědiroh and Cihlář.

For the students of Brno Technical University, it was already a great success to qualify for the finals, where 25 teams qualified from 102 applicants from 32 countries in the on-site formula category (with the physical presence of competitors, as opposed to the remote formula category with 24 participants, editor’s note).

ERC competition site at AGH University campus in Kraków. | Author: European Rover Challenge / KSAF

"This year's edition was the most competitive in the last five years. The number of teams increased by more than 50% compared to last year, and since only a maximum of 25 robotic teams can qualify for the finals, the demands were really high. That makes us even more pleased that we got there on our first attempt," Stanislav Svědiroh stated earlier after successful qualification.

In the overall ranking, first place went to the Swiss team EPFL Xplore from the Institute of Technology in Lausanne. They were followed by the German STAR Dresden team and third place went to AGH Space Systems from the host university.

ERC finalists at the ‘Martian’ site in Kraków, Poland. | Author: European Rover Challenge / KSAF

European Rover Challenge is organized by the European Space Foundation together with the AGH University of Krakow. It has been held in Poland since 2014 and is one of the largest competitions of student robotic teams worldwide. For participants, it represents not only the chance to compete internationally but also the opportunity to develop cutting-edge technologies with real relevance to space research.