Glacial moulins (cylindrical meltwater drainage shafts) provide valuable insights into glacier dynamics, but are inaccessible and hazardous environments for humans to study. Exploring them using passive sensor probes has revealed their complex geometry, which has limited further exploration with passive sensor probes. To overcome these challenges, we propose a tethered robot capable of autonomously exploring and capturing data in glacial moulins. Our novel robot is equipped with a tether to support its motion. Combined with novel estimation and control algorithms, the tethered robot is able to safely and efficiently maneuver in confined, chimney-like structures, such as moulins. Laboratory and field experiments confirm the feasibility of the proposed design, showing successful localization in environments with no access to positional measurements. Field trials on the Mer de Glace glacier demonstrate the robot's capabilities, descending into the largest moulin to depths of 25 m, capturing valuable scientific data. Onboard sensors are used to capture data to reconstruct the moulin's three-dimensional geometry and two sampling mechanisms are presented and evaluated to extract samples from the icy surface of the moulin. Our results show promising potential for future exploration of moulins, demonstrating the effectiveness of our tethered robot for safely gathering data from these hazardous environments.

中文翻译：

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进入冰中：系留机器人在冰臼中进行探索和数据采集

冰川磨坊（圆柱形融水排水井）为冰川动力学提供了宝贵的见解，但对于人类研究来说，这是难以进入且危险的环境。使用无源传感器探头探索它们揭示了它们复杂的几何形状，这限制了无源传感器探头的进一步探索。为了克服这些挑战，我们提出了一种能够自主探索和捕获冰臼数据的系留机器人。我们的新型机器人配备了绳索来支持其运动。结合新颖的估计和控制算法，系留机器人能够在狭窄的烟囱状结构（例如磨坊）中安全有效地进行操纵。实验室和现场实验证实了所提出设计的可行性，表明在无法进行位置测量的环境中成功定位。 Mer de Glace 冰川的现场试验展示了该机器人的能力，可下降到最大的磨坊深度 25 m，捕获有价值的科学数据。机载传感器用于捕获数据以重建磨坊的三维几何形状，并提出并评估两种采样机制，以从磨坊的冰冷表面提取样本。我们的结果显示了未来磨坊探索的巨大潜力，证明了我们的系留机器人在从这些危险环境中安全收集数据方面的有效性。