Built from the chassis up, in-house.
Every drivetrain, arm, and PCB is designed and machined by students. 6 platforms in active rotation, 2 in development for the next competition season, and the lineage that started it all.
In development
Building for the next season.
The platforms currently under active engineering — designed, fabricated, and tuned for a specific competition on the calendar.
ERC 2026 · rover
Rudra
Team Shunya's next-generation autonomous Mars-exploration rover, in active development for the European Rover Challenge 2026. 5-DOF manipulator with custom cycloidal gearboxes, Ackermann steering, and a redesigned science module capable of 30 cm-deep sample collection. ROS2 + Nav2 autonomy with EKF localisation, ZED 2i stereo vision, YOLO-based object detection, and intelligent safety mechanisms. Backed by Ubiquiti + LoRa comms for reliable operation in harsh Martian-like terrain.
ERC 2026 — cycloidal gearing, Ackermann steer, 30 cm sample drill.
ERC 2026 — alongside Rudra · drone
Scout Drone
Aerial counterpart developed in tandem with Rudra. Designed to support aerial mapping and reconnaissance during ERC missions — terrain scouting ahead of rover traverses, plus an extra perspective for the autonomy stack.
In rotation
The current fleet.
6 platforms · active
01 · IRC 2026
Shaurya
Team Shunya's IRC 2026 build — an autonomous Mars rover for terrain navigation, scientific exploration, and precision manipulation. 4WD differential drive, ROS2 autonomy stack, 5-DOF manipulator with Cartesian control, and a science cache for soil and atmospheric analysis. ZED 2i stereo vision, EKF localisation, LoRa backup comms, and intelligent power management.
IRC 2026 — ROS2 autonomy, ZED stereo, science cache.
02 · IRC 2026 — aerial recon
Khoj
Aerial reconnaissance and scouting system developed for IRC 2026 to support rover operations. GPS-guided navigation, real-time FPV transmission, autonomous failsafe systems, and a servo-based battery-dropping mechanism for payload delivery and mission support in challenging terrain.
IRC 2026 — GPS nav, FPV, autonomous failsafe, payload drop.
03 · SHAASTRA Caterpillar Autonomy 2026
Vetri
Debuted at SHAASTRA 2026 Caterpillar Autonomy Challenge. Earned the Design Innovation Award for its custom-engineered underbelly scooping mechanism — an in-house solution to autonomous berm construction.
Design Innovation Award · SHAASTRA Caterpillar 2026.
04 · ERC 2025
Lakshya
Built for the European Rover Challenge 2025. ROS-based autonomy, a 5-DOF robotic arm, advanced communications, and a science-cache mechanism — engineered for autonomous navigation, terrain traversal, manipulation, and sample collection in harsh Martian-analog environments.
ERC 2025 build — autonomy, manipulation, science cache.
05 · rover
Destiny
Companion rover platform. Engineered using AI-driven generative design for weight optimisation and structural resilience — proven on rocky, sandy, and inclined terrain.
06 · manipulator
Destiny Manipulator
High-precision arm designed in tandem with the Destiny rover platform. Built for industrial-grade payload manipulation in unstructured environments.
Lineage
Where it began.
The rover that put MaRS on the international podium. Retired from competition but kept on the floor — every new build inherits its design language.
Retired · ERC 2023 Onsite · IRC 2024
Vajra
The original flagship. Six-wheel rocker-bogie chassis, low centre of gravity, custom suspension engineered for Mars-analog terrain. Carried the manipulator that put MaRS on the international podium.
ERC 2023 Onsite & IRC 2024 — 21st globally.
Retired · manipulator
Vajra Manipulator
Five-degree-of-freedom arm with interchangeable end-effectors. Designed for sample collection, valve actuation, and equipment servicing in field-mission conditions — the manipulator on the original Vajra platform.
Our process
Five stages, every season.
Every rover travels the same path — from ideation through validation. Each stage feeds the next; mistakes caught early stay cheap.
01
Concept Design
Group ideation, requirement research, virtual-system documentation with defined features.
02
Embodiment Design
Virtual features converted into a layout of primary and secondary elements for seamless subsystem integration.
03
Detail Design
After mapping the integrated design, custom or COTS equipment is selected based on the use case.
04
Fabrication & Testing
Custom or COTS components tested from low-level to high-level integration, then assembled.
05
Validation & Development
Ongoing subsystem feedback loops drive error correction and innovation — practical improvement.
On the bench
Long-horizon experiments.
2 on the bench
In development
Legged Dog Rover
Four-legged locomotion platform — designed for terrain too irregular for wheeled rovers. Design phase complete; fabrication next.
Concept
Spider Bot
Multi-limbed crawler concept. Under active concept design — aimed at confined spaces and cave-like analog environments.
Want to follow along?
Recruitment for the current cycle is closed. Next intake is March 2027 — follow on Instagram for the call.