Two polar robots developed by the Shenyang branch of Chinese
Academy of Sciences have been successfully used in an experiment in
Antarctica.
The Shenyang Evening News reported on Friday that the Shenyang
Institute of Automation led the development of the two robots that
have performed experiments during China's ongoing 24th Antarctic
expedition.
The robots, which can move across the polar ice surface and fly
at low levels, have conducted the experiments at the edge of the
Antarctic ice cap about six kilometers from China's Zhongshan
Station. They probed the edge of the ice cap's to determine the
impact of global warming there.
So far, the 200-kilogram snow/ice surface moving robot has
successfully completed maneuvers to measure glaciers. It could
adapt to the polar environment much well.
The 20-kilogram flying robot flew 25 kilometers in 15 minutes at
a height of 150 meters to take sea temperatures and aerial
photos.
(CRI January 28, 2008)