Brno Mars Rover
Get to know usERC 2025 Finalist
Brno, Czech Republic
About The Rover Project
Brno Mars Rover is a student team from Brno University of Technology (BUT) developing an autonomous mobile robot equipped with a robotic arm and a drone. Our project started at the end of 2023 and brings together PhD, master’s, and bachelor’s students from several faculties of BUT. In 2025, we qualified for the finals of the European Rover Challenge (ERC) — the largest international competition for student-built Mars rovers. Out of more than 100 teams worldwide, only 25 reached the finals, and we proudly represented the Czech Republic. Competing with our rover Freya, we achieved 11th place overall, and finished 2nd in both the Autonomous Drone Navigation task and the Sample Collection task.
Our Goals
Our mission is to design and develop robotic technologies with broad applications both in research and in practical, real-world scenarios. We focus on:
- Creating robust mechanical designs capable of surviving harsh terrain
- Developing advanced autonomous navigation without GPS
- Designing reliable robotic manipulation for sample collection
- Integrating a drone to expand reconnaissance and navigation capabilities
- Using simulation-driven development: “What does not work in simulation, will not work in reality.”
Mars Exploration
Mars environment is harsh, but it is prohibitively expensive to send heavy equipment there. We're finding a balance between robustness and weight - the finished rover won't weight more than 65kg with all equipment included.
Rover Freya
Mechanical construction
Freya’s chassis is a six-wheeled rover platform with steerable front and rear wheels, ensuring high traction and maneuverability in rocky and sandy terrain. The design is lightweight but strong enough for demanding off-road conditions.
Manipulator
The robotic arm enables interaction with the environment. It can pick up and store geological samples, operate on equipment, and perform precise tasks required during missions.
Autonomous Navigation
Our rover is equipped with multiple sensors and computer vision systems for GPS-denied navigation. The algorithms allow terrain mapping, obstacle avoidance, and autonomous path planning.
Drilling & Sample Evaluation module
Freya can be equipped with a drilling unit capable of extracting soil samples from up to 30 cm depth. Collected material can be stored onboard for later analysis.
Simulation
We use Gazebo (gz sim) for development, testing both rover and drone algorithms in fully simulated environments. This allows safe and efficient testing of control software, sensor fusion, and autonomy before deploying it to hardware.
Quadrocopter F450
Our custom-built drone is designed to take off and land directly from the rover. It performs aerial reconnaissance, detects and localizes objects using onboard cameras, and can autonomously land on designated markers. The drone expands the rover’s field of view, helping identify targets that the rover can later approach and analyze.
Quadrocopter - f450
A quadcopter based on the F450 frame, equipped with Pixhawk, PX4 autopilot, Jetson Orin NX (16 GB), and a custom sensors. Navigation and control run on ROS 2 with custom flight controllers, making it a universal platform for diverse autonomous missions.
Object Search, Detection & Localization
The drone can autonomously search for objects, recognize them using a YOLO-based vision system, and determine their precise location for mission tasks.
Precision Landing
The system enables the drone to land on detected markers or other predefined objects, typically using ArUco tags, ensuring controlled and repeatable touchdown.
Simulation
A dedicated simulator allows safe development and testing of algorithms before deployment, speeding up iteration and improving reliability.
European Rover Challenge 2025 Achievements
In 2025, Brno Mars Rover competed in the ERC finals in Krakow, Poland. Over 100 international teams applied, and only the best 25 were selected to participate onsite.
11th Place Overall
With our rover Freya, we proudly secured 11th place overall in our very first participation. For a debuting team, competing against many long-established and highly experienced rover projects, this result proved that our ideas and solutions can stand among the best.
2nd Place in Drone Navigation
In the Drone Navigation task, our autonomous drone successfully performed precise take-offs, landings, and object localization. Thanks to stable performance and reliability, we achieved 2nd place among all teams.
2nd Place in Probing Challenge
In the Sample Collection task, Freya’s robotic manipulator demonstrated its dexterity and accuracy by retrieving samples from the simulated Martian surface and storing them onboard. This efficient execution earned us another 2nd place, confirming the quality of our design and control systems.
Partnerships
There are many institutions and companies that are helping us in achieving our goal. We are grateful for each one of them. If you or your company are interested in supporting us too, please do contact us.
