Equipped with spiky wheels or spidery legs, the robots developed by scientists at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) Robotics Innovation Centre are designed to navigate safely and independently through unknown, rough terrain. Their task: to explore and map caves and craters on celestial bodies such as the Moon and Mars. Interactive software tools and on-board simulations help the robots plan and manage difficult routes. Such smart scouts could not only support extra-terrestrial missions in future but would also be useful on Earth – for example in disaster operations, or to make everyday life easier for people with disabilities.