Five Polish teams in the finals of the University Rover Challenge

University Rover Challenge in Utah is a prestigious international competition of Mars rovers built by students. 44 teams from eight countries registered for this year\'s event. 23 teams from six countries qualified for the finals. Competing in the desert in the US state of Utah will be seven teams from the United States, five teams from India, four teams from Canada, one team from Egypt and Bangladesh. Poland will be represented by five student teams.

Among them is the team from Białystok University of Technology. Students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering undertook the construction of a Martian rover for this international competition for the fifth time. Mars rovers built by students from Białystok won the title three times: in 2011, 2013 and 2014. Their new rover is called #next.

"Chassis required re-thinking and re-designing. Suspension of previous rovers worked perfectly in difficult rocky terrain and on routes on steep slopes. Unfortunately, it could not cross a fault - one of the stages of the off-road driving task. We had to sit down again at the drawing board, virtual of course, and change the geometry of the chassis. We also designed a new arm. It did not cause any major problems in the desert, but unfortunately did not survive the test of time. Now it will be more durable, and we will increase the range of its movements. We hope that our solutions proposed this year will meet all the challenges prepared by the organizers" - said the team leader Maciek Rećko.

The team Legendary Rover from Rzeszów University of Technology will also start in the United States. "We are pleased to announce that we have successfully passed the final stage before the competition University Rover Challenge 2015. However, we are not done, we are increase the pace of work on our project" - wrote the team members on their Facebook page.

Another Polish team qualified to participate in the competition represents the Wrocław University of Technology. They will compete in the United States with their rover Scorpio, actually its next, improved version. "We are looking for a better name than Scorpio4.2" - told PAP team member Szymon Dzwończyk.

The team from Warsaw University of Technology also qualified for the competition. In the desert in Utah they will compete with the rover ARES built by members of the Warsaw University of Technology in the ERIS project. PCz Rover Team from Częstochowa University of Technology will prepare the fifth Polish rover for the competition.

University Rover Challenge (URC) is organised every year in late May and early June, in the American desert in Utah near the Martian base analogue MDRS. In extreme conditions, student teams from around the world and Mars rovers they build compete in four field competitions, simulating Mars missions. Remotely controlled rovers must climb terrain elevations, assist an injured astronaut, make repairs in a faulty device. Participants must also present the development of their designs.

Teams from Polish universities start in the competition since 2009. Polish students had their first success in 2011, when the rover Magma2 built at Białystok University of Technology took the top of the podium. Students from Białystok University of Technology won the first place again in 2013 and 2014 year with rovers Hyperion and Hyperion 2. In 2013, the team Scorpio3 from Wrocław University of Technology took the second, and in 2014 the third place went to the team Legendary Rover from Rzeszów University of Technology.

In recognition of the achievements of Polish teams, the first European edition of the competition - European Rover Challenge - was organized in early September 2014 in Świętokrzyskie Province.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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