Navigation system for a research ice probe for antarctic glaciers

Water filled caverns and crevasses in glaciers are miraculous habitats, which can accommodate highly specialized and adapted microbes and bacteria. The challenge for scientists is to obtain a sample of this water without contaminating it with surface bacteria, as well as to protect the sample from o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Niedermeier, H., Clemens, J., Kowalski, J., Macht, S., Heinen, D., Hoffmann, R., Linder, P.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
acoustic positioning
Acoustics
Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS)
dead reckoning
Ice
inertial navigation
magnetometer
Magnetometers
mapping
mining
Navigation
Probes
Sensor fusion
simultanious localization and mapping (SLAM)
subsurface glacier navigation
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:Water filled caverns and crevasses in glaciers are miraculous habitats, which can accommodate highly specialized and adapted microbes and bacteria. The challenge for scientists is to obtain a sample of this water without contaminating it with surface bacteria, as well as to protect the sample from oxygen and sun light. "IceMole" is a combined melting and drilling probe that can drill a bore hole with flexible trajectory under the ice and allows breaking into the crevasse from below or from the side to obtain clean and unaltered sample liquids, unlike standard drilling equipment. For this, the probe can travel distances in the ice of up to 80 m. A complex navigation system is needed to pinpoint the target. This paper focuses on the development and test of the IceMole navigation system, which enables precise probe navigation through the ice. This navigation system covers dead reckoning (DR) using inertial sensors, magnetometers and axial feed information, as well as acoustic positioning and reconnaissance, and sensor fusion. Navigation inside of glaciers is a special application of mining and borehole navigation. The special application and combination of the individual parts of the navigation suite make the project unique.
ISSN:2153-358X
2153-3598
DOI:10.1109/PLANS.2014.6851461