China-developed robot in polar experiment

A Chinese-made robot developed for ice cap exploration is employed in Antarctica. [File photo provided by Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to huanqiu.com]

A Chinese-made robot used for ice cap exploration in the Antarctic has taken part in an excavation on the Amery Ice Shelf.

Developed by Shenyang Institute of Automation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the tank-like robot is designed to detect the safest routes through snow-covered areas which may contain fissures. The robot uses aerial radar and remote sensing photography.

A Chinese-made robot developed for ice cap exploration is employed in Antarctica. [File photo provided by Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to huanqiu.com]

The robot can glide across the ice at speeds of 20 kilometers per hour. It can run for 30 kilometers, and has the ability to detect formations as deep as 100 meters below the ice.

The Shenyang Institute of Automation says the robot was able to cover some 200 kilometers on the Amery Ice Shelf over the course of 25 days. "It passed all the tests and shows it could adapt to the polar environment very well," said an unidentified researcher with the SIA.

A Chinese-made robot developed for ice cap exploration is employed in Antarctica. [File photo provided by Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to huanqiu.com]