EurEx-LUNa

EurEx - Persistent under-ice navigation

EurEx-LUNa Field Trials Abisko mission patch: yellow AUV under ice beneath the aurora
Scientific Leader:
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Frank Kirchner (DFKI)
 
Project leader:
Dr.-Ing. Marc Hildebrandt
 
Contact person:
Dr.-Ing. Marc Hildebrandt

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Project data sheet (german)
Project data sheet (english)

One important aspect of future missions to ice-covered moons within our solar system is the exploration of the oceans underneath the ice. Based on the exploration concept developed in the Europa-Explorer project, the aim of the EurEx-LUNa project is to further evolve the under-ice navigation and exploration capabilities of an autonomous system and subsequently evaluate them in an analog mission. In order to allow for persistent exploration in challenging and difficult to access environments, both the software and the hardware of an autonomous underwater vehicle must be thoroughly tested and continuously improved. An essential part is the safe return of the underwater vehicle and to successfully attach to the docking interface, allowing data and energy exchange. To evaluate the capabilities and robustness of the overall system an analog mission will be carried out in an ice-covered lake.

Duration: 01.03.2020 till 30.09.2023
Performing institution: German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence GmbH
Website: https://www.dfki.de/web/forschung/eurex-abisko
Application Field: Underwater Robotics
Space Robotics
Related Projects: EurEx
Europa-Explorer (12.2012- 04.2016)
EurEx-SiLaNa
EurEx-Safe Long-Term Navigation (09.2017- 10.2019)
CUSLAM
Localization and mapping in confined underwater environments (09.2009- 07.2012)
Related Robots: DeepLeng
Exploration-AUV for Long-Term Missions
Teredo IceShuttle
Through-Ice-Cap Transfer-Vehicle & Base Station
BlueROV2
Documentation vehicle
DAGON
Leng
Exploration AUV for long-distance-missions

Funding

Funding note
The EurEx-LUNa project is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWi) (Grant No. 50 NA 2002).

Project details

Schematische Darstellung des Missionsablaufes. 0) Eisbohrer hat den Eisschild durchbrochen. 1) AUV wurde aus dem Nutzlastkompartment ausgekoppelt, autarke Lokalisationsbojen werden ausgesandt. 2) AUV sinkt passiv bis zum Meeresboden. 3) Erkundung des Meeresbodens mit Kameras/Sonar, Lokalisation über interne Sensorik und autarke Lokalisationsbojen. 4) Passives Aufsteigen. 5) Rückkehr zum Eisbohrer und Andocken zum Daten-/Energieaustausch. (Foto: Jan Albiez, DFKI GmbH) Foto: Jan Albiez, DFKI GmbH
Schematic overview of a possible mission scenario. 0) ice-drill penetrated the ice-shield. 1) AUV has been released from the payload compartment. 2) AUV descends to ocean floor. 3) exploration using cameras/sonar and internal sensors. 4) ascend to the ice/water boundary. 5) return to ice-drill (using autonomous localization buoys) and docking for energy/data exchange.
EurEx-LUNa team in yellow cold-weather jackets outside the camp tent on the frozen lake Foto: Annemarie Popp, DFKI GmbH
Project team in Abisko, Sweden in front of tent on frozen lake: Marc Hildebrandt, Tom Creutz, Marius Wirtz, Michael Zipper, Bilal Wehbe
Two team members fitting a component to the yellow DeepLeng AUV at the ice hole Foto: Annemarie Popp, DFKI GmbH
Preraprations for a mission through the ice-hole
View from under the ice showing the yellow DeepLeng AUV beside the docking station Foto: Annemarie Popp, DFKI GmbH
A view of the docking-station and AUV DeepLeng from under the ice
Top view of the DeepLeng AUV docked into the docking station with chequerboard markers Foto: Annemarie Popp, DFKI GmbH
AUV DeepLeng docked into docking station
From March 20 to April 2, 2022 five DFKI scientists traveled to the small northern Swedish town of Abisko in the national park of the same name on Lake Torneträsk. There, north of the Arctic Circle, with outside temperatures around minus 10 degrees, the AUV autonomously explored the frozen lake, which is up to 168 meters deep. The researchers were housed in a research station in Abisko for the duration of the field trials. Main goal was to prove the feasibility of the concept for autonomous under-ice navigation and docking. Once launched by the mobile crane, the hole in the ice allows only a brief glimpse of the three-meter-long system while it dives down and disappears completely under the ice shell conducting its exploration mission and navigating back to the docking station, where it can transmit the data it has collected and recharge its batteries. The field trials were a complete succes with the AUV and support equipment working nearly flawlessly and a total of 50 hours spent on missions under the ice. The main goal, demonstration of the feasibility of the docking and navigation procedure under realistic conditions could be achieved already on the first few days so there was ample time to collect scientific datasets and explore the lake.

Videos

EurEx-LUNa: Under Ice Navigation of AUV DeepLeng

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In this short video we explain under ice navigation of the AUV Deep Leng.

EurEx-LUNa: Preparing a Mission to Jupiter's moon Europa. Under-Ice field test with the AUV DeepLeng

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At the end of the third phase of the Europa Explorer project for long-range underwater navigation (EurEx-LUNa), DFKI researchers are now conducting the final field tests in the Abisko National Park in northern Sweden. There, they are testing the DeepLeng autonomous underwater vehicle in frozen Lake Torneträsk to prove the feasibility of the concept for autonomous under-ice navigation.

AUV DeepLeng: docking under Ice

AUV DeepLeng: starts a mission

Publications(9)

9 publications · BibTeX · approx. 5 KB

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

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