A European Space Agency laboratory experiment is testing whether cooperating autonomous robots can surround and track an uncontrolled object in conditions resembling orbital weightlessness.
The University of Bologna’s Star-bots team developed a five-robot experiment combining physical and virtual participants. At ESA’s Orbital Robotics Laboratory in the Netherlands, physical platforms float above an exceptionally flat floor using air bearings that minimise friction. The simulated environment incorporates additional virtual agents, allowing researchers to investigate coordinated encirclement and tracking while retaining feedback from real hardware. The work explores techniques relevant to future space-debris removal and satellite servicing.
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/10/Swarming_robots_to_tackle_space_debris
