Teredo IceShuttle

Through-Ice-Cap Transfer-Vehicle & Base Station

The IceShuttle Teredo: a long metal cylinder with blue internals in the hall — The IceShuttle Teredo

Contact person:

Filedownloads

System sheet English
System sheet German

Technical Details

Size:	Ø 0.28 m x approx. 6.75 m (in development)
Weight:	Approx. 160kg
Power supply:	External power generator
Speed:	Approx. 0.8 m/h
Actuation/ Engine:	Thermal drill, thermal power 3.6 kW (ice-melting tip using 6 x 600 W cartridge heaters), estimated drilling rate 0.8 m/h
Sensors:	Supporting AUV navigation: Evologics S2CR 48/78 USBL, Sea & Sun Marine Tech SV48-6000 (CTD-Sensor), RJE International ULB-350 (acoustic beacon)
Communication:	Thetered, Ethernet
Organisational Details
Application Field:	Space Robotics Underwater Robotics
Related Projects:	TRIPLE-GNC TRIPLE-Guidance, Navigation & Control DFKI subproject: acoustic and visual perception of a miniaturized autonomous underwater vehicle for exploration of subglacial lakes (06.2023- 09.2026) EurEx-SiLaNa EurEx-Safe Long-Term Navigation (09.2017- 10.2019) EurEx-LUNa EurEx - Persistent under-ice navigation (03.2020- 09.2023) TRIPLE-nanoAUV 1 Localisation and perception of a miniaturized autonomous underwater vehicle for the exploration of subglacial lakes (09.2020- 06.2023) TRIPLE-MoDo TRIPLE-Mobile Docking System: AI-based close-range navigation and control for soft-robotic-based docking systems (11.2020- 05.2023) EurEx Europa-Explorer (12.2012- 04.2016) CUSLAM Localization and mapping in confined underwater environments (09.2009- 07.2012)
Related Robots:	Leng Exploration AUV for long-distance-missions DAGON
This system is not actively used anymore.

Funding

Funding note: The EurEx project is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWI), Grant No. 50 NA 1217).

System description

The Teredo IceShuttle is a robotic probe which is capable to transport a payload through an ice-shield towards an environment located beneath the ice. The System is developed in context of the project Europa-Explorer. Here a set of robots are developed to model the exploration of the hypothesized ocean on Jupiters icy moon Europa by an analog mission on earth. Within the scenario the IceShuttle transports an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) as its payload. The propulsion through the ice is generated by a thermal drill. Besides transportation the IceShuttle functions as a stationary base station. It provides a docking interface as well as a set of additional sensors to support the AUV’s navigation.
Due to the given requirements and the necessity to carry the AUV within the IceShuttle the two systems and their design are highly integrated and adjusted towards each other.