Photos and video: UH Hilo aerospace team’s planetary rover is the star in international competition this week
Robopalooza! A team from UH Hilo’s PISCES aerospace group transported Helelani, its planetary rover, to Australia for use in remote international competition.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
The Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), an aerospace research and education program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, is a sponsor of the second annual international 2025 IEEE Telepresence Competition held this week Oct. 6 in Perth, Australia.
The competition takes place as part of the two-day 2025 Robopalooza, held at the Australia Automation and Robotics Precinct. At Robopalooza, teams from around the world are challenged to remotely move the PISCES planetary rover named Helelani through an obstacle course as quickly as possible. The rover was used last year in the organization’s inaugural 2024 competition held in California’s Mohave Desert (see video above right). A team from PISCES escorted the Helelani to Perth last week for the 2025 competition.
The PISCES team of research director Christian Andersen, project manager and avionics engineer Amber Imai-Hong, and administrative officer Ashley Truchan are sharing their expertise, both scientific and cultural, at the event.
“We’ve touched down in Australia and are making our way west to Perth for Robopalooza 2025 and the Indo-Pacific Robotics, Autonomy, AI & Cyber Conference (IPRAAC) next week,” the team posted on Instagram a few days ago. “Our planetary rover Helelani is rolling with us to support IEEE’s Telepresence Challenge and our team will be giving talks and connecting with robotics and AI professionals from around the world. We’re ready!”
The two-day Robopalooza started with the UH Hilo team sharing their manaʻo. “Our director, Christian, shared insights on Hawaiʻi’s growing role in aerospace, while Ashley and Amber led a Native Hawaiian cultural activity for participants and keiki,” the team reports on their Instagram.
Imai-Hong also joined a panel of experts to explore how satellite data can benefit and transform industries on Earth. “We’re excited to be connecting with fellow innovators, researchers, and industry leaders to grow our research and STEM outreach initiatives,” reports the PISCES team.
Helelani travels to Perth
The international rover competition is especially exciting for the PISCES team because the Helelani is PISCES’ rover, home based on Hawaiʻi Island. As a testing platform used throughout the year, space agencies from around the world can pilot Helelani tele-robotically through planetary analog test sites on Hawaiʻi Island that simulate rugged lunar and Martian terrain. Undergraduates at UH Hilo use the rover for hands-on experience in robotics, engineering, and programming. (For an example of that, see UH Hilo computer science students conclude year-long software project on planetary rover, July 18, 2024, UH Hilo Stories.)
At the competition this week, Robopalooza challenges each international team to move the rover remotely through an obstacle course as quickly as possible. Teams navigate around each waypoint without hitting it. The team with the best time, less any penalties assessed for missing or hitting waypoints, wins a cash prize of US$5000 split equally among the team members.
“We are pleased to again use the Helelani Planetary Rover, courtesy of the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), an aerospace research and education program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s College of Natural and Health Sciences,” note the event organizers.
The PISCES team is ready for this week’s challenge, evident on their Instagram: “Today, Helelani is prepped and ready to shine in the IEEE Telepresence Challenge, where 13 international teams will compete remotely for the top prize. Let’s go, Helelani!”
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Update, Oct 17: PISCES recap video of 2025 Robopalooza
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
