![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2018\/11\/spacebok_robot\/18919366-3-eng-GB\/SpaceBok_robot_small.jpg\")
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\nThis walking and hopping robot is currently being tested in ESA\u2019s Mars Yard.\n<\/p>\n
\nSpaceBok<\/a> is a quadruped robot designed by a Swiss student team from ETH Zurich and ZHAW Zurich, under the supervision of Professor Marco Hutter and PhD student Hendrik Kolvenbach, for future missions to the Moon or Mars.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cLegged robots can traverse unstructured terrain and could be used to explore areas of interest, such as craters, which rovers are unable to reach,\u201d explains team member Patrick Barton. \u201cAs they are very versatile, they can change gait to adapt to different terrain.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIn contrast to other legged robots, SpaceBok is primarily built for hopping,\u201d adds team member Elias Hampp. \u201cWhile this is not particularly useful on Earth, it could reach a height of four metres on the Moon. This would allow for a fast and efficient way of moving forward.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201c\u201cWe are currently implementing and testing vision sensors, to increase SpaceBok\u2019s autonomy and robustness,\u201d says team member Radek Zenkl.\n<\/p>\n \nESA\u2019s 8 x 8 m Mars Yard \u2018sandbox\u2019, filled with different sizes of sand, gravel, and rock, is part of the Planetary Robotics Laboratory<\/a> at the Agency\u2019s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.\n<\/p>\n \nSee video of the SpaceBok here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \nThis walking and hopping robot is currently being tested in ESA’s Mars Yard.\n<\/p>\n \nSpaceBok<\/a> is a quadruped robot designed by a Swiss student team from ETH Zurich and ZHAW Zurich, under the supervision of Professor Marco Hutter and PhD student Hendrik Kolvenbach, for future missions to the Moon or Mars.\n<\/p>\n \n“Legged robots can traverse unstructured terrain and could be used to explore areas of interest, such as craters, which rovers are unable to reach,” explains team member Patrick Barton. “As they are very versatile, they can change gait to adapt to different terrain.”\n<\/p>\n \n“In contrast to other legged robots, SpaceBok is primarily built for hopping,” adds team member Elias Hampp. “While this is not particularly useful on Earth, it could reach a height of four metres on the Moon. This would allow for a fast and efficient way of moving forward.”\n<\/p>\n \n““We are currently implementing and testing vision sensors, to increase SpaceBok’s autonomy and robustness,” says team member Radek Zenkl.\n<\/p>\n \nESA’s 8 x 8 m Mars Yard ‘sandbox’, filled with different sizes of sand, gravel, and rock, is part of the Planetary Robotics Laboratory<\/a> at the Agency’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n