Recap: A Steam Deck is being used in testing for the ExoMars rover, giving Airbus engineers a handheld way to control a prototype vehicle in a Mars-like test environment. The experiment shows that Valve's gaming device can also serve as a practical controller for robotics work. For Airbus, it is one example of how accessible PC hardware can be repurposed for specialized testing.
The setup appears in a video from YouTuber Tom Scott, who visited Airbus facilities in the UK to see work on the rover. The project is focused on developing a vehicle that can travel across Mars with a high degree of autonomy. Because signals take too long to travel between Earth and Mars, the rover will need to make manfairbus y navigation decisions on its own using onboard 3D cameras.
That is the eventual goal. During testing on Earth, engineers still need direct control over the rover. In the video, a senior Airbus engineer first uses a laptop to tell a prototype to move forward. Scott later operates another rover with a Steam Deck running custom software. The handheld's sticks, buttons and triggers give him real-time control of the machine.
The video does not explain what software is installed on the Steam Deck or how it is connected to the rover, but it does show why the device can work well in a setting like this. The Steam Deck is essentially a small Linux PC with a built-in display and a full set of physical controls. That makes it more adaptable than a conventional game console and more portable than a laptop-and-controller setup.
The ExoMars use is another example of Valve hardware being put to work outside gaming. Disney operators have also been seen using Steam Decks to control BDX droids at Galaxy's Edge. In both cases, the device appears to be serving as a flexible control interface rather than as part of the robot's main computing system.
Valve's hardware is well suited to that kind of experimentation because it is relatively open. Steam Deck owners can install other programs and operating systems, and the same general approach applies to the company's Steam Machine and Steam Frame devices. Developers are not limited to games sold through the Steam store.
Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat made that point in an interview about the Steam Machine. "I don't think it's a coincidence that a good PC is also a good gaming device. At the end of the day, good hardware is good hardware. So in a lot of ways, the challenges you're trying to solve are, a lot of them are pretty much the same."
Valve does not tightly control what owners do with its hardware, which means a Steam Deck can be bought for uses that have nothing to do with Steam games. It can become a robotics controller, a portable development device or a general-purpose Linux computer.
For Airbus, the Steam Deck is not a substitute for the ExoMars rover's autonomous systems. The final rover will have to navigate without live steering from Earth. Its cameras and onboard software will be responsible for identifying terrain and choosing routes across the Martian surface.
The handheld is useful during the development stage, when engineers need to move prototypes, test controls and observe how the rover responds. A physical controller can be quicker and easier to use than a keyboard.