Can it really be called off-road when there are no roads on the moon? Suzuki has teamed up with Hakuto to give assist in the development of a lunar rover which is a crucial part of the team’s effort in competing for the Google Lunar XPrize. The XPrize winner will be require to have landed a privately funded rover on the moon, driven it 500m and sent video and images back to earth in high definition. The rover will have to be light and most likely four wheel drive as to not get bogged down on the moon’s surface which bring Suzuki’s traction control and engineering skills into play. There are currently 16 team competing for the Lunar XPrize with the winning team receiving $20 million.
There is no word if Honda’s friendly robot Asimo or Yamaha less friendly Motobot plan their own off-earth excursions on a moonbot.