Design of Water-Ice Amphibious Vehicle for Under-Ice Observation

The exploration and study of polar oceans are crucial concerns for scientists. The unique environment of polar oceans and the specific observational requirements pose special challenges for conventional underwater robots. Amphibious robots, capable of adapting to the complex and dynamic polar environment, are particularly suitable. Hence, this paper primarily focuses on the design of a water-ice amphibious vehicle. Driven by propellers and ice-spur wheels, the vehicle is capable of surface navigation, under-ice navigation, and crossing ice layers. Additionally, the paper introduces a vision-based light source-guided recovery system to enhance the vehicle's autonomy during under-ice exploration. Experimental tests were conducted on a frozen lake and in controlled pool environments, providing initial verification of the vehicle's proficiency in surface navigation, under-ice exploration, and successful traversal of ice layers. Furthermore, under limited conditions on land, the preliminary tests of the light source-guided recovery system demonstrated its feasibility for short-distance recovery.