Valve designed the Steam Deck as a portable gaming PC, but Airbus has found a much different use for the handheld system. The aerospace company is using a Steam Deck to control a prototype Mars rover during development and testing, turning the device many people use to play their Steam library into a portable robotics controller.

The setup was shown in a video from YouTuber Tom Scott, who visited an Airbus facility in the UK to observe work on the ExoMars program. During the demonstration, Scott was able to control a prototype rover using a Steam Deck running custom software. Its thumbsticks, buttons, and triggers were used to move and operate the machine, similar to how someone would control a vehicle inside a game.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean someone will be sitting on Earth with a Steam Deck steering the rover around Mars. Communication delays between Earth and Mars make real-time control impractical, so the final rover needs to be capable of making navigation decisions without someone constantly telling it where to go.

Airbus is developing technology for the ExoMars rover, officially known as Rosalind Franklin, which is intended to operate with a high level of autonomy once it reaches Mars. Its onboard cameras and systems will help it examine the terrain and determine how to safely travel across the surface.

Things are different while prototypes are being tested on Earth. Engineers need a convenient way to manually move the vehicles around, test their behavior, and position them during development. That’s where the Steam Deck comes in.

The exact software Airbus is running on the handheld wasn’t detailed, but the Steam Deck has several characteristics that make it useful for this kind of work. Despite looking like a gaming console, it’s essentially a compact Linux PC with a built-in display, touchscreen, physical controls, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Developers can also install their own software instead of being limited to programs distributed through Steam.

That gives Airbus a portable computer and controller in a single device. Instead of carrying a laptop and connecting a separate gamepad, an engineer can potentially use the Steam Deck for both running specialized software and providing physical controls.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.