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 ...

In studying the dynamics of ant nest excavation, the nest volume has to be continuously monitored. In many laboratory studies, the excavated substrate, such as sand, was collected, and the volume of excavation was calculated by converting the weight of the collected sand into the volume. The excavated sand can be manually collected and weighed; however, manual collection is tedious, particularl...

Excavation and earthmoving equipment mostly operate in accident-prone areas. These areas normally have rollover, confinement, and fall or may be considered harmful work areas due to demolitions and sewage removals. It is inevitable that excavation and earthmoving systems should be developed to secure the safety of operators through unmanned and remote control systems. Therefore, this research p...

Any archaeological site shows a stratification formed by single 3D volumes, the deposits and specific 3D surfaces of human origin as pits, ditches or wall-surfaces known as the units of stratification. Excavation forms the main data retrieval process in field archaeology a destructive process to be documented in three dimensions. To fully reconstruct the part of the site destroyed by excavation...

Research on data quality through the analysis of accuracy and uncertainty has become a major development in GIS science. Fisher’s taxonomy provides solutions for the processing of uncertainty in spatial data representation. However, excavation data differs from geographical data, owing to the specific features of archeology such as incompleteness, temporal and functional aspects. Therefore, arc...

Dimensionless coefficient () in convergence confinement method shows the relaxation of stress in the wall of the tunnel at different excavation movements. This factor is considered a constant number in previous studies and tunnel geometric characteristics (such as depth, cross-section shape, radius, soil material, etc.) are not included in its determination; however, ignoring these effects can...

During colony growth, leaf-cutting ants enlarge their nests by excavating tunnels and chambers housing their fungus gardens and brood. Workers are expected to excavate new nest chambers at locations across the soil profile that offer suitable environmental conditions for brood and fungus rearing. It is an open question whether new chambers are excavated in advance, or will emerge around brood o...

Ground movements during tunnel excavation are varied in magnitude and trend depending on several factors including the tunnel geometry, ground conditions, excavation methods, and support measures, etc. There exist several empirical and semi-empirical formulas available for predicting ground movements. These conventional methods, however, do not simultaneously take into consideration all the fac...

The late Pliocene is notable for the appearance of two new hominid genera as well as the first archaeological sites, generally attributed to the Oldowan Industrial Complex. However, the behavioral ecology of Oldowan hominids has been little explored, particularly at sites older than 2.0 Ma. Moreover, debates on Oldowan hominid foraging ecology and behavior have centered on data from only two re...