Ibadan, 25 July 2023. – The 2023 European Rover Challenge (ERC 2023) finals will happen from 15-17 September 2023, as 25 of the world’s best student teams from 12 countries will present their rovers in the robotics competition finals. The ERC 2023 program will also include interesting interdisciplinary debates on space exploration and the opportunity to experience state-of-the-art robotic solutions, as well as to drive a rover and perform a task with it on the scale of a real Mars mission.
As in previous years, the finals will feature an on-site aspect where the teams’ robots will participate. On the other hand, there will also be a unique remote formula in which global competitors will connect remotely.
This year’s ERC co-organizers are the European Space Foundation, Kielce University of Technology, and Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship. Likewise, the event partners include Mars Society Poland, Poznan University of Technology, Polish Space Professionals Association, Polish Space Industry Association, Pyramid Games, Pokojowy Patrol, and the American corporation MathWorks and RedWire.
During the elimination stage, the competition’s jury tasked the participants with requirements similar to those of the largest space agencies. Furthermore, the teams presented a very high level during the eliminations. As a result, there will be representatives from countries, including Switzerland, Greece, the Czech Republic, India, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Bangladesh, Spain, Egypt, Great Britain, and Poland.
European Rover Challenge happens under the patronage of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Polish Space Agency. The event has enjoyed support through the presence of the astronauts of NASA and heads of the robotics departments of ESA, representatives of the European Union Space Program Agency EUSPA, as well as international organizations and space companies.
