Scientists from the Poznań University of Technology intend to create a Space Robot Testing Center. This is the next step in the production of Polish robots ready for flights to the Moon or Mars. There are already projects and plans but the launch of investment is still missing.

Similar test centers exist in Germany, France and Italy but they are missing in Central Europe. Today, Polish space technology is only adding components to foreign robots or rovers. There is no Polish company that produces complete rovers ready for flight. It is possible that the planned center will help change this.

The elements of the Center will include an experimental ground of about 700 square meters and a mission control center, in which the conditions related to communication difficulties will be created: a transmission delay system and its closing due to the lack of a signal. The center will also be equipped with systems to weaken Earth’s attraction and reduce friction.

“The key challenge is that when we move a manipulating robot, it is normally attached to the ground and moving it forward does not change the position of its base. If we don’t have friction, our movements will cause the base to move. We want to simulate it”, says Krzysztof Walas, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Robotics of Machine Intelligence at the Poznań University of Technology.

The originators of the Center’s construction emphasize that the decision to create the Center was influenced by the Mars rover competition organized in Poznań, which aroused the imagination of students.

“This competition is attended by representatives of space agencies, people who have flown into space. It is not only a technical event but also an inspiration for students”, says Walas.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński