Tensegrity laboratory drilling rig for earth and space drilling, mining, and exploration

Ergonomic Exposure Assessment on a Drilling Rig

Drilling Automation for Subsurface Planetary Exploration

Future in-situ lunar/martian resource utilization and characterization, as well as the scientific search for life on Mars, will require access to the subsurface and hence drilling. Drilling on Earth is hard – an art form more than an engineering discipline. The limited mass, energy and manpower in planetary drilling situations makes application of terrestrial drilling techniques problematic. Th...

Drilling systems for extraterrestrial subsurface exploration.

Drilling consists of 2 processes: breaking the formation with a bit and removing the drilled cuttings. In rotary drilling, rotational speed and weight on bit are used to control drilling, and the optimization of these parameters can markedly improve drilling performance. Although fluids are used for cuttings removal in terrestrial drilling, most planetary drilling systems conduct dry drilling w...

Robotic and Human-tended Collaborative Drilling Automation for Subsurface Exploration

Robotic devices and humans interact with each other and themselves at differing levels of collective responsibility. Future space exploration requires both robotic and human components, in complementary roles. Future in-situ lunar/martian resource utilization and characterization, as well as the scientific search for life on Mars, will require access to the subsurface and hence drilling. Drilli...

Drilling Mechanism of Autonomous Burrowing Robot for Lunar Subsurface Exploration

Lunar and planetary subsurface exploration is of considerable significance. The authors have studied the strategies for subsurface excavation and propulsion for the development of a lunar subsurface explorer. The authors have proposed an autonomous robotic explorer which can burrow into the soils. Based on the strategies the authors have already considered, this paper especially focuses on the ...