Development of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) for Polar Research Support

Abstract

The Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) has developed an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to support research activities in the harsh environment of Antarctica. In order to overcome the rough terrain of Antarctica, the vehicle features over 25cm ground clearance, four-wheel-drive by a 400W high-power motor, and passive joints and differential links to allow four point contact in rough terrain. The UGV is also designed to run for more than 2 hours on the Antarctic ice sheet at a speed of 2.5m/sec. The control unit uses open-source hardware and software in consideration of rapid function implementation and ease of customization in the future. In November 2019, the UGV succeeded in autonomous driving along the 2.6km section of the Browning Pass around Jang Bogo Station, Antarctica.