The mini Mars rover you can fit in a backpack

A Polish team of engineers who first created a rover in a NASA contest that eventually led to Curiosity have revealed a remote control, backpack-sized version of their 'land drone' designed to be used on Earth. The $1400 'Turtle Rover' has a robot arm that can be remotely controlled, a HD camera for livestreaming, and can have everything from GoPro's to laser mapping attachments added to it. Its makers boast it can conquer every terrain and even be submerged under water, making it useful for everyone from researchers to photographers.

Simon Dzwonczyk, CEO and mechanical designer of Kell Ideas, the maker of Turtle Rover, said: "The rover as a standalone product can be used as a land drone for photography, inspection, and of course for fun. There are places you won't send your drone: for example, caves, ruins, and other tight spaces - Turtle loves to work there." The 18-inch by 16-inch robot that 'looks and feels like a Mars rover' is equipped with a robotic arm and a full HD camera that supports livestreaming. Users can add GoPros, DSLR cameras, external lights, 360-degree cameras, custom electronics, or a LIDAR (light detection and ranging system) for mapping.

Turtle can overcome obstacles the size of its wheels and can also transport equipment. Its makers say they hope they will also be used in MilSims, military simulations for civilians that range from video games to actual reenactments of military combat with air guns or even real pyrotechnics and military vehicles.

Both the software and hardware of the robot - which can be remotely controlled from 200m away - are open-source, which means it has potential for an infinite number of modifications for different uses. It's built around RaspberryPi (a series of mini single-board computers) and gives access to the Linux operating system driving the robot, making it convenient for users to implement their own software and algorithms into the code.

The team says the closest competitor to Turtle would be flying drones, but they believe they have the aerial vehicles beat with some advantages no UAV could overcome. "The rover can drive for up to 4 hours, stream fullHD for up to 8 hours and can take up to 5kg equipment - Beat it, drones!" Dzwonczyk said. There are ground robots on the market, but they're either small developmental kits used for simple tasks or huge, expensive quasi-military robots for special purposes.