Polish university teams have finished first and third at an international robotics competition in which contestants had to create rovers which completed tasks simulating those that would be needed in a colony on another planet.
The AGH Space Systems team, comprised of students from Kraków’s AGH University of Science and Technology, were awarded first place at the 2023 Canadian International Rover Challenge, which took place in Drumheller, Alberta.
Second place was taken by the Husky Robotics team from the University of Washington, with the Raptors from Łódź University of Technology in Poland secured third. Overall, 17 teams from across the world participated in this year’s challenge.
The competition is open to teams of students, each of which must supply their own personally constructed rover – an exploration device designed to move across the solid surface of a planet.
Their rovers then undertake the types of missions that the inhabitants of an extraterrestrial colony may face in the future, including search and rescue, water redirection, land speculation and prospecting, rubble traversal and dexterity.
Kalman, the rover of the AGH Space Systems team, performed the best in four out of the five categories, securing an overall win for the team.
Yesterday at #CIRC_2023 was amazing 😍 #Kalman_rover faced as much as two missions: Water Redirection and Land Speculation & Prospecting 🤖 pic.twitter.com/EEGX0apcna
— AGH Space Systems (@AGHSpaceSystems) August 14, 2023
In the water redirection mission, during which the rover was tasked with disconnecting an existing pipeline and installing a new water system, Kalman earned a near-perfect score of 148 out of 150 possible points.
The judges were especially impressed with AGH Space Systems’ invention of a so-called “sun”, a special light source placed on Kalman which provided additional lighting in difficult nighttime conditions.
The team from Kraków were also praised for their precision in controlling the robotic arm when they switched to manual control of the rover whenever problems with autonomy appeared.
A team of Polish engineers has won this year's James Dyson Award grand prize.
They invented a "smart dressing" that detects how a wound is healing and if there is an infection. "This can improve treatment and save lives," says Sir James @Dyson https://t.co/Krd9RAkBUF
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 19, 2022
The win marks the latest success for the AGH team, whose track record includes first place in the 2020 Indian Rover Challenge and topping the European leaderboard in this year’s University Rover Challenge in the United States, where they placed 8th overall.
“The four days of the competition were a real challenge, but leaving our comfort zone turned out to be a very valuable experience and absolutely validated our solutions,” said AGH Space Systems of their latest victory.
“Thank you to everyone who made our trip possible and showed support. Together, we create an extraordinary team whose potential is as infinite as outer space. We will try to prove it once again in September at the European Rover Challenge 2023.”
The European Rover Challenge, another international planetary robotics competition, will take place from 15 to 17 September in the Polish city of Kielce. The AGH team came second in the 2019 edition of the competition.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Canadian International Rover Challenge/Facebook
Anna Hackett is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland. She is a recent graduate of European Studies from Trinity College Dublin and has had previous journalistic experience with the Irish Independent News & Media group.
