{"id":10157,"date":"2026-01-26T15:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T14:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/?p=10157"},"modified":"2026-10-23T10:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T08:20:09","slug":"innovative-comet-planetary-rover-by-cracow-university-of-technology-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/en\/innovative-comet-planetary-rover-by-cracow-university-of-technology-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovative COMET Planetary Rover by&nbsp;PK&nbsp;KUT students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7387b849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"804\" src=\"https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/LazikCOMET1-1024x804.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/LazikCOMET1-1024x804.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/LazikCOMET1-300x235.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/LazikCOMET1-767x602.jpg 767w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/LazikCOMET1.jpg 1041w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">COMET rover team with astronaut S\u0142awosz Uzna\u0144ski-Wi\u015bniewski. From left to&nbsp;right: Jakub Klimek, Marcin Fortuna, Mateusz Ra\u017any, Krzysztof Periy, Wojciech Blicharz, and S\u0142awosz Uzna\u0144ski-Wi\u015bniewski. Photo: Robert \u017bewecki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-pk-typografia-lead pk-lead has-text-align-justify\"><strong>Students from PK&nbsp;KUT are developing the &#8220;COMET&#8221; planetary rover, a&nbsp;versatile machine designed for reconnaissance, research, rescue, construction, military, and delivery tasks. This operational mobile robot is&nbsp;the creation of&nbsp;the university&#8217;s&nbsp;interdisciplinary Astro Space Technologies student research group and is&nbsp;currently undergoing advanced testing. Built to&nbsp;last and handle any scenario, it&nbsp;is&nbsp;being rigorously tested in&nbsp;various terrain and atmospheric conditions. The multi-purpose vehicle also aims to&nbsp;compete against similar machines at&nbsp;prestigious rover competitions, including the European Rover Challenge in&nbsp;2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<nav class=\"pkng-toc\" aria-label=\"Contents\"><p class=\"pkng-toc__title\">Contents<\/p><ul class=\"pkng-toc__list\"><li class=\"pkng-toc__item pkng-toc__item--h3\"><a href=\"#h-drone-rover-specialized-robot-system\"><span class=\"pkng-toc__nr\">1.<\/span> Drone + Rover = Specialized Robot System<\/a><\/li><li class=\"pkng-toc__item pkng-toc__item--h3\"><a href=\"#h-a-planetary-rover-because-mars-is-not-enough\"><span class=\"pkng-toc__nr\">2.<\/span> A&nbsp;Planetary Rover, Because Mars is&nbsp;Not Enough<\/a><\/li><li class=\"pkng-toc__item pkng-toc__item--h3\"><a href=\"#h-per-aspera-ad-astra\"><span class=\"pkng-toc__nr\">3.<\/span> Per Aspera Ad&nbsp;Astra<\/a><\/li><li class=\"pkng-toc__item pkng-toc__item--h3\"><a href=\"#h-space-technologies-at-pk-krakow-university-of-technology\"><span class=\"pkng-toc__nr\">4.<\/span> Space Technologies at&nbsp;PK&nbsp;Krakow University of&nbsp;Technology<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><br><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">COMET is&nbsp;an&nbsp;autonomous, research-oriented planetary rover\u2014an&nbsp;operational mobile robot designed for reconnaissance, specialised, and servicing missions. &#8220;<em>We&nbsp;are designing our construction to&nbsp;be&nbsp;as&nbsp;modular and modifiable as&nbsp;possible, allowing for the addition of&nbsp;modules with various applications<\/em>,&#8221; explains <strong>Krzysztof Periy<\/strong>, leader of&nbsp;Astro Space Technologies PK&nbsp;and a&nbsp;PhD student at&nbsp;the Faculty of&nbsp;Electrical and Computer Engineering. &#8220;<em>These will include a&nbsp;6-degree-of-freedom gripper, a&nbsp;deep-sample drill, a&nbsp;vision system, a&nbsp;communication system, a&nbsp;drone landing pad, a&nbsp;chemical laboratory, and a&nbsp;storage unit for collected samples. We&nbsp;aim for the highest quality of&nbsp;components and the IT&nbsp;system, and we&nbsp;are also working towards the robot&#8217;s&nbsp;full autonomy<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">The 18-person construction team includes students and staff from four PK&nbsp;faculties: Faculty of&nbsp;Electrical and Computer Engineering; Computer Science and Mathematics; Mechanical Engineering; and Materials Science and Physics. This interdisciplinary collaboration is&nbsp;guided by&nbsp;experienced university scientists. The core team consists of&nbsp;both graduate students and undergraduates specialising in&nbsp;fields like computer science, automation, electronics, mechanical engineering, and physics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Drone + Rover = Specialized Robot System<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">The rover is&nbsp;a&nbsp;remotely controlled, four-wheeled mobile platform equipped with a&nbsp;vision system and a&nbsp;set of&nbsp;environmental sensors. &#8220;<em>Its design allows for reconnaissance, terrain inspection, and transport of&nbsp;light cargo in&nbsp;difficult conditions<\/em>,&#8221; says Periy. &#8220;Thanks to&nbsp;its high-travel suspension, high ground clearance, and independent drive control, the rover can move stably over uneven ground and manoeuvre precisely in&nbsp;confined spaces.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">The project includes a&nbsp;docking platform for a&nbsp;reconnaissance drone, which will ultimately support aerial terrain analysis. A&nbsp;drone constructed by&nbsp;the team will soon be&nbsp;fully integrated with the rover, creating a&nbsp;two-module system of&nbsp;cooperating robots. &#8220;<em>The rover will receive real-time topographic and environmental data, as&nbsp;well as&nbsp;dynamic obstacle maps created from &#8216;bird&#8217;s-eye view&#8217; imagery. This will significantly increase the effectiveness of&nbsp;autonomous navigation and operational safety<\/em>,&#8221; adds the team leader. The drone will be&nbsp;equipped with a&nbsp;communication system for autonomous takeoff, landing, and direct transmission of&nbsp;terrain maps to&nbsp;the rover&#8217;s&nbsp;onboard computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Future development stages plan to&nbsp;equip the machine with an&nbsp;advanced 6-degree-of-freedom manipulator (gripper), enabling precise tasks like e.g.&nbsp; lifting\/sorting objects, operating technical panels, and, naturally,&nbsp; collecting samples. A&nbsp;parallel development is&nbsp;a&nbsp;sample storage module\u2014a&nbsp;set of&nbsp;secure containers for safe geological sample transport. The team is&nbsp;also upgrading the sampling system to&nbsp;collect surface material and drill to&nbsp;shallow depths, complemented by&nbsp;a&nbsp;weighing system and documentation via photos and basic environmental measurements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Students are also developing an&nbsp;autonomy module, allowing to&nbsp;navigate a&nbsp;designated route independently, avoid obstacles, and assess terrain conditions based on&nbsp;data from cameras, sensors, and the drone. Consequently, the rover will be&nbsp;ready for increasingly advanced inspection, servicing, and research tasks, with its modular design allowing for future functional expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A&nbsp;Planetary Rover, Because Mars is&nbsp;Not Enough<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">The max speed achieved during tests is&nbsp;approx. 20 km\/h, but this is&nbsp;not its upper limit. The drone can fly at&nbsp;speeds up&nbsp;to&nbsp;150 km\/h. COMET has a&nbsp;4-wheel electric BLDC motor drive. On&nbsp;one battery pack at&nbsp;maximum RPM, it&nbsp;can operate for about 1.5 hours. It&nbsp;currently uses an&nbsp;18V industrial battery; it&nbsp;is&nbsp;possible to&nbsp;extend its operational time with additional packs. It&nbsp;weighs about 20 kg, but after mounting all additional modules (drone docking platform, manipulator), it&nbsp;will roughly double in&nbsp;weight (with dimensions of&nbsp;80 cm&nbsp;W, 95 cm&nbsp;L, 30 cm&nbsp;H). The drone measures 55&#215;50 cm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Hubert Orlicki<\/strong> from Astro Space Technologies discussed the onboard systems: &#8220;<em>The rover currently uses an&nbsp;ATmega256 AVR family microcontroller for low-level control and sensor handling. Tasks requiring greater computational power, like image processing and camera data analysis, are handled by&nbsp;a&nbsp;separate Linux-based onboard computer with an&nbsp;AMD Ryzen\u2122 5 processor and an&nbsp;RTX 4050 graphics card for machine vision acceleration<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">The control is&nbsp;facilitated by&nbsp;proprietary software allowing operation via computer keyboard or&nbsp;a&nbsp;controller with joysticks. Communication currently uses an&nbsp;industrial router with a&nbsp;150m range, but the team is&nbsp;working on&nbsp;a&nbsp;new radio-based system in&nbsp;order to&nbsp;increase operational distance even more. COMET has been tested in&nbsp;desert (B\u0142\u0119dowska Desert, the only one in&nbsp;Poland), muddy, clay, and forest terrain. &#8220;<em>It&nbsp;performed well during tests, but after each, we&nbsp;added minor mechanical improvements to&nbsp;strengthen the structure<\/em>,&#8221; says <strong>Kamil Kaczmarz<\/strong> from Astro Space Technologies, a&nbsp;PhD student at&nbsp;the Faculty of&nbsp;Mechanical Engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<em>We&nbsp;aim for a&nbsp;fully waterproof robot, so&nbsp;wet condition tests for missions in&nbsp;rain and snow are expected. We&nbsp;might also adapt the drive to&nbsp;something akin to&nbsp;a&nbsp;snowmobile track for winter operations<\/em>.&#8221; The constructors underline the rover&#8217;s&nbsp;wide range of&nbsp;potential applications: military reconnaissance, courier vehicle, reconnaissance in&nbsp;dangerous areas, or&nbsp;an&nbsp;educational machine. This broad spectrum is&nbsp;the reason why its creators prefer the term &#8220;planetary rover&#8221; over the common &#8220;Martian rover.&#8221; This also stems from the fact that Earth conditions significantly differ from Mars, which has harmful radiation, different atmospheric pressure, temperatures, and gravity, to&nbsp;name a&nbsp;few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<em>After building a&nbsp;fully functional prototype with all planned features adapted for Earth conditions, we&nbsp;intend to&nbsp;modify it&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;resistant to&nbsp;extraterrestrial conditions and operate in&nbsp;such environments<\/em>,&#8221; adds Krzysztof Periy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=7kdVyrENEQQ%3Fsi%3Dp6Fl1eXrNCMnwRLx\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Per Aspera Ad&nbsp;Astra<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\"><br>Rovers used in&nbsp;actual space missions by&nbsp;agencies like NASA or&nbsp;ESA incorporate cutting-edge technologies and software. While student projects cannot compete with those backed by&nbsp;giant budgets, student competitions like the European Rover Challenge (ERC) often serve as&nbsp;a&nbsp;gateway into the space industry. Their juries include specialists from space agencies and the industry who can easily spot and appreciate talent and creativity. The COMET team is&nbsp;currently preparing to&nbsp;participate in&nbsp;the European Rover Challenge 2026 finals, scheduled for 4-6 September 2026, at&nbsp;the AGH University of&nbsp;Krakow. Qualifying for the finals requires submitting detailed technical reports in&nbsp;English and a&nbsp;presentation video. The competition is&nbsp;tough, with only about one-fifth of&nbsp;approximately 100 global teams advancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<em>We&nbsp;have submitted our construction for evaluation in&nbsp;the last two ERC editions and came close to&nbsp;the finals last year. Based on&nbsp;the knowledge gained, we&nbsp;have completely redesigned the project. We&nbsp;believe qualifying and securing a&nbsp;spot in&nbsp;the ERC final is&nbsp;within our reach<\/em>,&#8221; adds Periy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">But their ambitions extend beyond ERC 2026. &#8220;We&nbsp;also plan to&nbsp;enter the Anatolian Rover Challenge in&nbsp;Turkey. Additionally, we&nbsp;aim to&nbsp;apply for the University Rover Challenge 2027 in&nbsp;the USA, held in&nbsp;the Utah desert. Qualifying for such competitions, where the robot must be&nbsp;prepared for terrain conditions somewhat similar to&nbsp;Mars, would open many opportunities for us&nbsp;in&nbsp;the space industry,&#8221; announces Mateusz Ra\u017any. COMET has already been showcased at&nbsp;scientific events. On&nbsp;4 November 2025, the team participated in&nbsp;the &#8220;Space for Everyone&#8221; event at&nbsp;Jagiellonian University, where astronaut S\u0142awosz Uzna\u0144ski-Wi\u015bniewski showed interest in&nbsp;their work. Their inventions were also presented at&nbsp;the &#8220;Science and Business&#8221; congress in&nbsp;Warsaw and the inaugural CogiTECHon Innovation Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Space Technologies at&nbsp; PK&nbsp;Krakow University of&nbsp;Technology<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\"><br>The COMET planetary rover is&nbsp;yet another example of&nbsp;growing student activity in&nbsp;space technologies at&nbsp;PK&nbsp;KUT in&nbsp;recent years. Since 2023, students from the COSMO PK&nbsp;student research group have successfully launched the HABSat stratospheric probe on&nbsp;missions to&nbsp;study cosmic radiation intensity at&nbsp;different flight altitudes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">In&nbsp;March 2024, students from this circle implemented the &#8220;pharmaCOSMOGEL&#8221; project on&nbsp;lyophilized hydrogel dressings as&nbsp;a&nbsp;potential treatment for skin wounds and mucous membrane inflammation in&nbsp;astronauts. The team became finalists in&nbsp;the &#8220;Direction: Space&#8221; competition organised with the European Space Agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this year, Kacper Odziomek, a&nbsp;PK&nbsp;KUT biotechnology student, became the only Pole to&nbsp;join the prestigious American &#8220;Andromeda&#8221; programme, where he&nbsp;is&nbsp;developing methods to&nbsp;counteract bone demineralisation in&nbsp;astronauts under microgravity conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\">(jp)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\">Photo: Robert \u017bewecki<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\">Translation: Marcin Bielowicz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>COMET is&nbsp;an&nbsp;autonomous, research-oriented planetary rover\u2014an&nbsp;operational mobile robot designed for reconnaissance, specialised, and servicing missions. &#8220;We&nbsp;are designing our construction to&nbsp;be&nbsp;as&nbsp;modular and 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