An Unmanned Tracked Vehicle for Snow Research Applications

摘要

Lightweight robotic vehicles can be designed for over-snow mobility to carry out a variety of snow and glacier related studies like carrying out ground penetrating radar and global positioning system surveys, collecting snow samples, and carrying out sub-surface experiments on terrain that are dangerous for human movement. Sinkage, resistance to snow compaction, loss of traction and ingestion of snow into the driving system are some of the challenges that an unmanned lightweight tracked vehicle faces in snowbound terrain. In present work, a lightweight and unmanned remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is conceptualized and developed as a technological solution. In this study, design and features of this vehicle, named HimBot, are presented along with the results obtained from tests carried over snow at one of the field research stations of SASE. The outcome of this work will help in developing an optimised design of an ROV for over-snow mobility for a variety of applications.