European Rover Challenge 2014

The European Rover Challenge, or ERC, is an international competition organized by the Mars Society Polska. The main event, the Challenge involving analogues of Mars rovers, is a competition for teams of students and recent graduates of higher education institutions, who, with the help of their faculty, try to first design and build and then field test the best rover. The core of the Challenge are four practical tasks: a science task involving obtaining and analyzing samples, a “blind” navigation task, in which the team will have to guide the rover to a certain destination using just GPS coordinates and no camera input, and two engineering tasks that will require using and repairing equipment. During all of the tasks, the teams will have to control their rovers without seeing them directly.

24 teams, from all over the world, have applied to step up to the Challenge. The main event will be held in Poland from September 5th to 7th, at the Regional Science-Technology Centre in Podzamcze near Chęciny.

The ERC is a European variation of the prestigious University Rover Challenge, organized in the USA by The Mars Society.

Taking part in the European Rover Challenge is a chance for students to showcase their projects and skills. It will also be a chance to meet international space industry and research experts, during the three day long scientific conference “Humans in Space” , which is part of the ERC event schedule. Speakers include The Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin and G. Scott Hubbard, consulting professor at the Stanford University, former head of the NASA Ames. Representatives of the Polish National Centre for Research and Development, the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, the Polish Space Industry Association and other entrepreneurs are also expected as participants.

Detailed information about the ERC is available on the official website: www.roverchallenge.eu

euRobotics AISBL endorses this competition and is now listed among the Honorary Patrons.