Mining Robot Durability Demonstration Summary Timelapse: Aurora Robotics
Channel: Orion Lawlor
Date: 2023-08-05

An overview of our mining robot's long term performance, with timelapses of it excavating and hauling during our 15-day durability demonstration for the NASA Break The Ice lunar permafrost mining challenge. 

The excavation timelapses are shown at 20x actual speed, and the hauling timelapses are shown at 40x actual speed.  We generally mined 10-20 kilograms of material before hauling it 500 meters to the water extractor site. We show operations on day 3, with a narrow drum and piloted by Brandon Forsythe; day 7, with a wide drum and more automated operation; and day 13 with fully automatic operation during the major operations. 

We also show a major malfunction on day 8 when a polycarbonate 3D printed bracket broke in half due to the robot pushing the mining head into the concrete with what turned out to be over 60 pounds (28 kilograms) of force. This broke the tool coupler that we had been using to add/remove the mining head, so we bolted the mining head directly to the frame to continue operatinos. 

A summary of how this type of robot might be used in a future space mission is in our Phase 1 video:
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYMc3...

Read more about the NASA Break The Ice lunar permafrost mining challenge at this NASA site:
  https://breaktheicechallenge.com/

We're a University of Alaska Fairbanks robotics team led by Dr. Orion Lawlor:
  https://auroraroboticslab.com/

You can DOWNLOAD THIS ROBOT both hardware and software here:
  https://github.com/AuroraRoboticsLab/

Our testing is on the UAF campus in Fairbanks, Alaska.