Traction, made in-house.
Custom 3D-printed TPU tyres and a passive rocker-bogie differential keep the six driven wheels working over uneven ground.
PROJECT 01 / FIELD TESTED
LEAP-One.Built to explore.
Our first planetary rover. Designed and built in Schmalkalden, put to the test at the European Rover Challenge in Kraków.
KRAKÓW, POLAND / ERC 2026 / FIELD PHOTOGRAPH
01 / THE VEHICLE
Six wheels.One first leap.
A six-wheel rocker-bogie platform brings mobility, manipulation and science together. Explore the rover and the systems that took it into the field.
6Driven wheels
180 mmNominal ground clearance
6 DoFIgus ReBeL robotic arm
1.5 kWhApprox. stored energy
Vehicle architecture // LEAP-One
Six wheels, one arm,
one drill.
LEAP-One integrates six-wheel mobility, autonomous navigation, precision manipulation and deep-sampling science on one research platform.
INSIDE LEAP-ONE
Four mission systems.
Rocker-bogie suspension built for steep inclines, loose gravel and complex obstacles.
02 / ENGINEERING
The vehicle,in detail.
The ERC 2026 configuration. Estimates and design targets are marked; estimated system mass is 74.8 kg.
01Mobility & structure+
Load-bearing structure, terrain handling and motive force.
- Chassis material
- Aluminium 3.3535 (5754)
- Suspension type
- 6-Wheel Rocker-Bogie with Differential
- Ground clearance
- 180 mm nominal
- Gradeability
- 35° incline traverse · design target
- Drivetrain
- 6× Botwheel BLDC + ODrive S1
- Wheel architecture
- Custom 3D-Printed TPU Wheels
02Power & compute+
Energy storage, endurance and the compute core behind the mission.
- Battery architecture
- 4× 12.8 V, 30 Ah LiFePO₄ in 2S2P
- Stored energy
- 25.6 V · 60 Ah · ≈1.5 kWh
- Estimated autonomy
- ≈1 h 21 min at design load
- Primary compute
- ROG NUC 15 + Teensy 4.1
03Mission systems+
Autonomy, science instrumentation and mission communication links.
- Autonomy framework
- ROS 2 on Ubuntu 24.04 · EKF + DWA
- Depth cameras
- Multiple front RealSense cameras + wrist camera near gripper
- Mast camera
- Logitech camera
- Manipulation system
- Igus ReBeL 6-DoF · 2 kg payload
- Sampling drill
- 530 mm coaxial auger · ≥300 mm depth
- Primary data link
- 5 GHz AirMAX TDMA · 400 m verified
- Backup link
- 2.4 GHz ExpressLRS
Power that stays connected.
Four LiFePO₄ modules form the 25.6 V bus. The E-Stop isolates mobility while retaining compute and communications for diagnostics.
Strong as a tank.
Boehm Group manufactured the solid 5754 aluminium plate structure. It was robust, but heavy — the lesson behind Leap-2’s folded sheet-metal approach.
LEAP-ONE / OPERATIONS SOFTWAREThe view from
The view from
mission control.
A purpose-built LEAP-One workstation brings mapping, telemetry, camera supervision and subsystem operations into one field-ready control environment. Used at the ERC 2026 finals, it carries forward to Leap-2.
- CAMERA SUPERVISION
- ROVER TELEMETRY
- DRIVE + ARM + DRILL
- SCIENCE PAYLOAD
03 / FIELD RECORD — ERC 2026
Built in Schmalkalden.Tested in Kraków.
124 teams registered worldwide; 25 qualified for the finals. We took 17th place on our first attempt, without major sponsorship. Our partners and crew made that possible. This is just the beginning: the experience is already shaping Leap-2.
17 / 124Place / registered teams · 25 finalists
1492.25Overall points / 3000
4thDocumentation
6thNavigation droning
Full task breakdown+
- Documentation
- 364.25 / 400
- Navigation droning
- 265 / 300
- Presentation
- 229 / 300
- AstroBio
- 215 / 300
- Surface & deep sampling
- 197 / 440
- Exploration
- 123 / 340
- Traverse
- 43 / 340
- Maintenance
- 66 / 340
- Probing
- 12 / 240
- Mass
- −22 / 200
NEXT / PROJECT 02
Every first leap
starts the next.
The lessons from LEAP-One become the brief for a larger, more capable platform.
Meet Leap-2 →PARTNERS / INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIC
