For decades, humanity has sent out rovers to explore the planets we couldn’t. But for most people, the real undiscovered planet is our own. To encourage people to explore the best planet we know we created EARTH7 – a space rover destined for Earth.

Revealed at a public event in Moscow, EARTH7 created a portal from Moscow to the world.

The augmented reality game combined cutting-edge technology with simple gesture control. This interactive experience enabled people to pilot the unique rover and explore a remote desert 5000 km away. Seated in front of a huge screen transmitting a live stream from EARTH7’s location, participants were able to remote control the 75kg machine with just a flick of the wrist. The connection was made using custom built 5,000KM high-speed data channel.

Each participant driving the rover had the opportunity to win return tickets to any S7 destination worldwide.

Within 2 months we had to construct a nearly unbreakable rover, develop an augmented reality game, design and built futuristic sci-fi installation and establish high-speed lag free connection between the event location and distant desert 5000 km away.

The event took place in one of the busiest public spaces in Moscow. Anyone could participate. In the immersive augmented reality game every pilot had a chance to win a ticket to any S7 destination, if he collected 3 samples of life on Earth, like jamon or K-pop. Over 50 samples were dynamically rendered over the rover’s livestream, providing for each user a unique gaming experience. This game was displayed on a 5 meter wide curved screen with live sound from the desert.

To make the experience feel like a real game, rover reactions had to be less than a second. No satellite solutions could ensure this. So we created our own dedicated channel. 97% of the way the signal was transmitted through fiber optics and for the last 100 km we set up an airMAX wireless channel in the middle of the desert.

Piloting the rover had to be intuitive. We used MYO armband that read hand muscles impulses with an electromyographic sensor and sent signals to the rover. This gesture powered interface turned advanced robotics system into a fun gaming experience.

EARTH7 was built to operate autonomously for hours during the live game. It could survive unpredictable human actions and driving on a rough desert surface. The rocker-bogie suspension with aluminum wheels helped the 75 kg machine to overcome obstacles up to 40 cm and drive on inclines up to 45 degrees. A centimeter-accurate GPS, gyroscope and accelerometer were constantly sending the location data to the game server in order to identify the rover’s position whithin the game area.

The EARTH7 activation succeeded in not only putting the wonder back into travel, but drove fame and sales for S7 Airlines:

123% sales increase via S7’s website

70% increase in visits to s7.ru

32% increase in brand awareness

5M+ organic film views across S7’s owned brand and social channels