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\t\t\t\t\t\t26\/01\/2026<\/span> Last autumn, the European Space Agency\u2019s Orbital Robotics Laboratory hosted three student teams from universities across Europe. After being selected to join the ESA Academy Experiments programme, the students were invited to carry out the experimental part of their research projects in the agency\u2019s test facilities with support and guidance from experts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For their experiments, the student teams made use of ESA\u2019s ORBIT facility \u2013 a part of the\u00a0Orbital Robotic Laboratory\u00a0(ORL) located at ESTEC, the agency\u2019s technical heart in the Netherlands. ORBIT consists of a 43 m2<\/sup>\u00a0ultra-flat floor \u2013 the height difference between its lowest and highest points is less than a millimetre.<\/p>\n The facility operates similarly to an air hockey table. Its testing platforms are equipped with air bearings, which create a stable air gap between the platforms and the floor.<\/p>\n This air gap, thinner than a strand of hair and so hardly visible to the human eye, allows the platforms to move across the floor without any friction. This reproduces the state of weightless free-floating in two dimensions for any instruments mounted on the platform.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Skywalker team from Aalborg University, Denmark, used the simulated two-dimensional microgravity environment to test the reinforcement learning algorithms they have developed for their robotic arm. Their project aims to demonstrate the concept of autonomous crawling in microgravity.<\/p>\n \u201cOur first algorithm allows the arm to find an anchor point and to anchor itself to it, all this while attached to the top of a floating platform,\u201d explains Rasmus Kristiansen from the Skywalker team.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThe second algorithm then drags the floating base by moving the arm while anchored. This one gave us a little bit of trouble, producing results that differed from our earlier simulations. Luckily, we were able to identify the issue, and the rest of the testing went smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal of our project was to teach a robot to crawl across structures,\u201d comments Skywalker team member Da\u00f0i Hrannar Dav\u00ed\u00f0sson.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, robots moving around structures in space using the crawling motion have to be pre-programmed. Our project is a proof-of-concept, with the objective to enhance robotic capabilities for assembling and maintaining large structures in space.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In the very first ORBIT facility experiment involving human participants, the V-STARS team from Birkbeck, University of London, and the University of Kent, UK, investigated the relationship between the human vestibular system (region of the inner ear responsible for body balance) and the perception of verticality in a microgravity environment.<\/p>\n Milena da Silva Baiao, V-STARS team member, explains: \u201cOur experiment, involving 22 participants in total, focused on the use of vestibular stochastic resonance \u2013 a phenomenon in which controlled noise enhances the sensitivity of a sensory system \u2013 to improve perception and potentially accelerate adaptation to microgravity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n V-STARS team member Maryam Haq describes the experiment: \u201cWhile sitting on a chair attached to a floating platform, a participant is wearing VR goggles and has small electrodes placed behind their ear. They are slowly pushed around the flat floor in random directions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe electrodes are sending gentle signals to stimulate the participant\u2019s vestibular system, while we present an image of a simple line to them in the goggles. We then check the participant\u2019s verticality perception by asking them whether they see the line as vertical or slightly tilted.\u201d<\/p>\n Milena adds: \u201cPerforming a neuroscience experiment with human participants was new both for us and for the ORL team. Navigating a new environment while integrating our experiment was a challenge, but an incredibly valuable learning experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The GRASP team from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, explored an innovative approach to performing manoeuvres with non-cooperative objects in space. The robotic arm they have developed themselves is sporting an adhesive gripper inspired by nature.<\/p>\n \u201cOur experiment simulates a small spacecraft approaching and capturing an object in space by using a tentacle-like gripper with adhesive pads inspired by geckos,\u201d explains GRASP team member Stefano De Gasperin.<\/p>\n \u201cThese remarkable creatures can easily stick to surfaces thanks to microscopic hairs on their feet. This form of adhesion doesn\u2019t need glue or suction, leaves no residue, and can be activated and released repeatedly \u2013 making it perfectly suited for the vacuum of space.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Team member Lorenzo Di Filippo adds: \u201cOur robotic arm was mounted to one floating platform, and its target \u2013 a bright yellow object \u2013 to another. First, we instructed the arm to find the target and move towards it autonomously using on-board sensors. The two tentacle-like grippers then wrapped around the target and pulled it closer, simulating the initial phase of an in-orbit capture.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough the ORBIT facility features the flattest floor in Europe, identifying the flattest area was still relevant to our experiment. This was challenging but ultimately allowed us to collect scientific data of very good quality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cAt the Orbital Robotics Laboratory, we see students arrive with bold concepts and leave having accomplished something ambitious and unique on their own,\u201d comments Marti Vilella, manager of the Orbital Robotics Laboratory. \u201cThe projects they test here are not just about the technology pushing forward, but also about elevating the students\u2019 professional careers to exciting paths.\u201d<\/p>\n Laura Borella, coordinator of the ESA Academy Experiments Programme, concludes: \u201cThe ESA Academy Experiments Programme supports university student teams\u00a0from concept and design to testing and execution in advanced gravity-related facilities. It emphasizes professional engineering practices, project management, risk mitigation, and funding strategies, with continuous mentorship from ESA experts.<\/p>\n \u201cThe programme is open to students from all academic backgrounds, not only STEM fields. Students in areas such as design, psychology, communication, or business often bring valuable perspectives that enhance the quality, usability, and outreach of the experiments, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of real space projects.<\/p>\n \u201cThis hands-on experience gives students unique insights into how space missions are developed and managed, complementing their academic studies with real-world application.\u201d<\/p>\n More information <\/b><\/p>\n ESA Academy<\/p>\n ESA Academy Experiments<\/p>\n For up-to-date information about ESA Education initiatives, visit the ESA Learn portal.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t0<\/span> likes<\/small><\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\nEurope\u2019s flattest floor<\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nSkywalker: teaching a robotic arm to crawl across structures<\/h2>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nV-STARS: tricking the human body\u2019s balance system<\/h2>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nGRASP: grasping objects with a gecko-inspired arm<\/h2>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhere creative ideas turn into reality<\/h2>\n