Airbus engineers use Steam Deck as a controller for ExoMars rover prototype
According to cnBeta, Airbus engineers in the United Kingdom used Valve’s Steam Deck handheld PC as a portable control terminal while testing a prototype of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover. The setup, shown in a video filmed by YouTuber Tom Scott, allowed real‑time manual driving of the rover using the Deck’s joysticks and buttons, although the device serves only as a user interface, not the rover’s main computer.
Key facts
- 01The demonstration was recorded by YouTuber Tom Scott during a visit to Airbus’s UK research facility.
- 02An Airbus senior engineer first commanded the rover via a laptop before Tom Scott used a Steam Deck running custom software to control a second prototype.
- 03The Steam Deck runs a Linux operating system and can install third‑party programs, allowing it to function as a portable manual controller rather than the rover’s onboard computer.
- 04The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover, now delayed from a 2022 launch, is planned to launch in the early 2030s and will feature a 3‑D panoramic camera, autonomous navigation and a drill capable of reaching about 2 metres below the surface.
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