UNIVERSITY ROVER CHALLENGE // 2026 PLATFORM

2026 MARS ROVER MECHANICAL LEAD

Mechanical leadership across chassis packaging, wheel development, manipulator redesign, electronics integration, science payload support, and field testing.

PROGRAM SNAPSHOT

TEAM

12-MEMBER MECHANICAL SUBTEAM

URC RESULT

18TH GLOBALLY IN 2026

TIRE PACKAGE

50% WIDER, 38% LARGER DIAMETER, ABOUT 3 IN MORE CLEARANCE

UNIVERSITY ROVER CHALLENGE // 2026 PLATFORM

2026 MARS ROVER MECHANICAL LEAD

Mechanical leadership across chassis packaging, wheel development, manipulator redesign, electronics integration, science payload support, and field testing.

The 2026 rover placed 18th globally at the University Rover Challenge. As mechanical lead, I was responsible for mechanical priorities, CAD reviews, subsystem packaging, build planning, and test support across drivetrain, chassis, manipulator, electronics, and science payload work.

The season focused on improving the parts of the rover that affected field performance most: terrain capability, service access, manipulator mass, electronics organization, payload integration, and test readiness. Rather than rebuilding everything from scratch, we kept and rebuilt the proven chassis platform while targeting the weak points that showed up during testing and prior competition work.

ROLE

Mechanical lead for a 12-member mechanical subteam.

RESULT

18th globally at URC 2026.

SYSTEMS

Chassis, drivetrain, wheels, manipulator, electronics packaging, science payload mounting, and field-test support.

MAIN FOCUS

Improve rover performance through targeted redesign instead of unnecessary full-platform reinvention.

SCOPE OF WORK

Mechanical Responsibilities

Breakdown of direct mechanical responsibilities, supporting contributions, and cross-team integration points.

Led Directly

Mechanical team direction, CAD reviews, and subsystem priorities across the rover

Chassis packaging, electronics layout, service access, and integration planning

Manipulator work spanning current-arm validation and the new lighter arm architecture

Contributed To

Wheel development for stairs, rough terrain, traction, clearance, and lower tire mass

Science payload mounting, drilling support, pumping support, and sample-handling integration

Field testing, repairs, and revision work during rover bring-up

Cross-Team Integration

Electrical packaging, cooling, wiring paths, and service access around the full rover

Autonomy and software hardware needs including sensors, typing tasks, and repeatable homing

Science payload sequencing, mounting constraints, and test support on the rover

KEY DECISIONS

Major Mechanical Decisions

The main mechanical choices, why they were made, and what they changed on the rover.

DECISION 01

KEPT THE PROVEN CHASSIS AND SPENT TIME WHERE IT MATTERED

Constraint

The welded aluminum chassis already worked. The real issues were wheel performance, manipulator mass, electronics access, payload packaging, and how quickly the rover could be serviced during testing.

Decision

Kept and rebuilt the chassis instead of replacing it, then focused redesign time on the weak points that were actually limiting field performance.

Impact

That kept the season grounded and freed time for the changes that improved the rover most.

DECISION 02

REDESIGNED THE WHEEL PACKAGE FOR REAL TERRAIN

Constraint

The previous wheels were workable, but they struggled with stairs, left clearance on the table, and were not where we wanted them for rough terrain.

Decision

Moved to a tire package that was 50% wider and 38% larger in diameter, then kept iterating tread shape, size, and material through testing.

Impact

The rover gained about 3 in of ground clearance, climbed stairs, and still ended up with tires that were 38% lighter despite the larger footprint.

DECISION 03

DESIGNED AROUND TESTING AND SERVICE ACCESS

Constraint

Electrical, software, autonomy, and science hardware were all changing during the season, so the rover had to stay easy to open up, troubleshoot, and put back together.

Decision

Improved electronics packaging, cooling, removable panels, and access paths so the rover could be worked on quickly instead of fighting a buried wiring mess every test day.

Impact

That made integration and field repairs much faster and kept more of the schedule available for real testing.

ITERATION STRIP

Concept To Final Result

A quick read on how the project evolved through redesign, integration, and field use.

CONCEPT

KEPT THE CHASSIS AND PICKED THE REAL PROBLEM AREAS

The early mechanical direction was to stop redesigning good parts and spend time on wheels, manipulator mass, electronics organization, payload integration, and service access.

REDESIGN

WHEELS, PACKAGING, AND ARM MASS BECAME THE MAIN WORK

Wheel geometry, electronics layout, current-arm fixes, and the new lighter arm architecture became the main redesign tracks for the season.

PROTOTYPE

MECHANISMS WERE ITERATED IN CAD, BENCH TESTS, AND FIELD TRIALS

Wheel, arm, and science hardware were checked in CAD and then pushed through task-style testing before full integration.

INTEGRATION

PACKAGING HAD TO STAY WORKABLE WHILE OTHER SYSTEMS CHANGED

Panels, wiring space, cooling, payload mounts, antenna mounts, and sensor mounts all had to support fast iteration across the rover.

FIELD TEST

TESTING EXPOSED WHAT ACTUALLY NEEDED TO CHANGE

Rocks, stairs, slopes, long-range driving, autonomy routes, equipment servicing, and science runs drove the real mechanical revisions.

RESULT

THE ROVER PLACED 18TH WITH CLEAR MECHANICAL GAINS

The finished rover kept the chassis that worked and improved the parts that had been holding the platform back in real use.

ARCHITECTURE

Subsystem Breakdown

Selected mechanical work from the 2026 rover build, including chassis packaging, wheel development, arm validation, new arm architecture, science payload integration, and field testing.

TOOLS USED

SolidWorksSolidWorks FEACAD reviewsMechanism designRapid prototypingElectronics packagingField testing

Full rover during system-level integration and manipulator operation.

ROLE

Mechanical Lead for the Rover Platform

12-member subteam | CAD reviews | build planning | full-rover integration

I led the mechanical direction for the rover, including subsystem priorities, CAD reviews, mechanical integration, build planning, and testing support. My work covered the rover at both the subsystem and full-system level: chassis packaging, drivetrain and wheel development, manipulator work, electronics layout, science payload integration, and field repairs.

The role was not just designing isolated parts. A major part of the work was deciding what actually needed to change, what could be reused, and how to keep the rover testable while electrical, software, autonomy, and science work were still changing around it.

Kept the Proven Chassis, Redesigned the Weak Points

Rebuilt chassis and electronics layout during rover integration.

MECHANICAL STRATEGY

Kept the Proven Chassis, Redesigned the Weak Points

Welded aluminum chassis | modular layout | cooling | service access

The welded aluminum chassis was kept and rebuilt rather than replaced entirely. That let the team focus time on areas that actually affected rover performance: wheels, manipulator mass, electronics access, cooling, payload packaging, and field reliability.

The previous electronics layout had become a mess of wiring, zip ties, and flat sheet packaging. For 2026, the mechanical layout emphasized cleaner electronics organization, better service access, cooling, and removable or modular packaging so the rover could be worked on quickly during testing.

Wider tire package used for rough terrain, stairs, and added clearance.

DRIVETRAIN

Wheel Package for Terrain and Stairs

50% wider tires | 38% larger diameter | about 3 in more clearance | 38% lighter tires

The wheel redesign focused on improving the rover’s ability to handle rough terrain, stairs, slopes, and field obstacles. The previous wheels were workable, but they could not climb stairs well and left room for improvement in clearance and traction.

The updated tire package used tires that were 50 percent wider and 38 percent larger in diameter, adding about 3 inches of ground clearance. Despite the larger footprint, the final tire package reduced tire mass by 38 percent. The wheel design continued to change through testing, with tread shape, size, and material adjusted based on terrain performance.

Current arm during task-style testing and homing validation.

MANIPULATOR

Current Arm Validation and New Arm Development

>8 kg lift | Hall-effect sensors | hardstops + limit switches | about 4.5 kg lighter next arm

Manipulator work happened on two tracks: testing the current arm for competition tasks and developing the new lighter arm architecture. The current arm was tested on task-style interactions including lifting over 8 kg, keyboard typing, switches, buttons, drawers, hose plugging, and other equipment-servicing actions.

To improve repeatability, the arm used Hall-effect homing sensors along with hardstops and limit switches. Testing also exposed mechanical issues, including binding that required an arm rebuild, grip changes for the end effector, and gearbox work to reduce self-weight and improve usable output.

The new arm architecture was built and validated as the next manipulator system. It reduced manipulator mass by about 4.5 kg compared to the current arm while preserving the required competition load target and operating envelope. Its direction was a lighter, more task-focused arm rather than a heavier universal system.

Science payload hardware during drilling, pumping, and mixing tests.

SCIENCE PAYLOAD

Science Payload Packaging and Test Support

Soil collection | transfer | pumping | mixing | analysis support

The science payload required mechanical support for soil collection, transfer, pumping, mixing, and analysis hardware. My role was to supervise and support the mechanical integration so the payload could function as one sequence on the rover rather than disconnected bench components.

Testing included science system run-throughs with drilling, chemical pumping, and mixing. These tests led to changes such as gas spring pressure adjustment so the auger could maintain proper contact with the ground.

Field testing on rocks, slopes, stairs, and mock competition tasks.

TESTING

Field Testing Drove the Revisions

Rocks | stairs | slopes | long-range driving | autonomy patterns

The rover was tested against the kinds of conditions and tasks expected at competition: rocks, stairs, slopes, long-range driving, autonomy search patterns, self-navigation around obstacles, equipment servicing, science run-throughs, and general field operation.

Testing drove real design changes. The wheels changed tread shape, size, and material. The arm was rebuilt after binding issues. End-effector grip shapes and materials were tested for better contact. Antenna mounts were strengthened to handle shock with larger locking teeth and more contact engagement. Sensor mounts were redesigned for durability using improved printing capability and stronger materials.

Mechanical layout had to leave room for wiring, antennas, sensors, and payload hardware during full-system integration.

INTEGRATION

Mechanical Work Around Electrical, Software, Autonomy, and Science

Wiring space | cooling | antennas | sensors | payload packaging

A rover is not a collection of separate mechanisms. The mechanical layout had to leave space for wiring, cooling, electronics access, antennas, science payload hardware, sensors, and autonomy components. Mechanical decisions affected whether other subteams could test, debug, and modify their systems quickly.

My work included coordinating mechanical changes around electrical packaging, software needs, autonomy hardware, and science payload constraints. The goal was to make the rover easier to test and repair, not just better-looking in CAD.

Built direction for the lighter manipulator architecture, reducing arm mass while preserving the required competition task envelope.

RESULT

Targeted Redesign, Real Rover Performance

18th globally | targeted redesign | service access | lighter next arm

The 2026 rover placed 18th globally at URC. The mechanical program improved the rover through targeted redesign rather than a full restart: a rebuilt chassis platform, larger and lighter wheels, better clearance, cleaner electronics packaging, improved service access, current-arm task testing, and a new lighter manipulator architecture.

The biggest lesson was that mechanical leadership is not just about designing the most complex mechanism. It is about choosing what matters, keeping the rover buildable, and making sure the full system can survive testing.

VALIDATION

Validation Notes

Kept and rebuilt the welded aluminum chassis instead of spending the season on a full platform restart.

Replaced the older wire-and-zip-tie electronics layout and thin solid bellypan approach with cleaner modular packaging, better cooling, and faster service access.

Tested the current arm on URC-style tasks including over 8 kg lifts, keyboard typing, switches, buttons, drawers, and hose-plugging.

Used Hall-effect sensors, hardstops, and limit switches for homing and repeatability.

Tested on rocks, stairs, slopes, long-range driving, autonomy patterns, equipment servicing tasks, and science payload run-throughs.

Arm and Packaging Checks

Expand

Manipulator and packaging work was checked against real URC tasks, not just whether the parts looked cleaner in CAD.

The current arm was tested on over 8 kg lifts, keyboard typing, switches, buttons, drawers, and hose-plugging tasks.

Hall-effect sensors, hardstops, and limit switches were used for homing and repeatability.

The new arm architecture reduced manipulator mass by about 4.5 kg while preserving the required competition task envelope.

Wheel and Terrain Testing

Expand

The wheel package was developed around terrain performance, clearance, and serviceable field behavior.

The updated tires were 50% wider and 38% larger in diameter, adding about 3 in of ground clearance.

Despite the larger footprint, the final tire package reduced tire mass by 38%.

Testing on rocks, stairs, and slopes drove changes to tread shape, size, and material.

System Integration Testing

Expand

The rover had to stay buildable and testable while electrical, software, autonomy, and science work were all moving at once.

The electronics layout was cleaned up to replace a wire-and-zip-tie setup with more modular packaging, cooling, and access.

Testing covered long-range driving, autonomy search patterns, equipment servicing tasks, and science payload run-throughs.

Antenna mounts, sensor mounts, and end-effector details were revised after field use exposed durability and handling issues.

OUTCOME

Outcome

The rover placed 18th globally at URC 2026. Mechanically, the season ended with a rebuilt chassis platform, larger and lighter wheels, cleaner electronics packaging, better service access, current-arm task testing, and a new lighter manipulator architecture.

RESULT SNAPSHOT

TEAM

12-MEMBER MECHANICAL SUBTEAM

URC RESULT

18TH GLOBALLY IN 2026

TIRE PACKAGE

50% WIDER, 38% LARGER DIAMETER, ABOUT 3 IN MORE CLEARANCE

ENGINEERING TAKEAWAYS

What Worked, What Changed, What I Learned

What changed

We did not restart the whole rover. We kept the chassis and spent time on wheels, electronics access, arm mass, and payload packaging.

That made the season more focused and gave the team more time to test the parts that really affected field use.

What held up

Larger tires, more clearance, and cleaner packaging turned into real gains in terrain performance and maintenance speed.

Validating the current arm while building the next one kept the rover usable in the present without losing the longer-term manipulator direction.

What I learned

Mechanical lead work is deciding what not to redesign as much as what to redesign.

Keeping the rover serviceable and testable was just as important as any single mechanism on it.

VIDEO PREVIEW

External Project Videos

A few external videos that show the project in motion beyond the embedded local media on this page.

SAR Video