Amphibian subterranean robot for mine exploration

Although many experimental and applied robotic research have been carried out to cater the need of planetary explorer to deep sea systems, yet the application of subterranean robotics in underground mine is very rare. Particularly robot with intervention capability after post flooding situation of underground mines has not been reported earlier. Design and development of an amphibian exploring robot capable of operation in constrained mine environment puts a tremendous challenge from both scientific and engineering perspective. The amphibian Subterranean Robotic explorer (SR) is capable of moving over fairly rough terrain, crawl over basin floor as well as can swim effortlessly. This paper presents the development aspects of an amphibian exploring robot. Several field trials have been carried out for performance testing of the system to ascertain its capability on dry land as well as under water.