Three Axis Positioning System for an Autonomous Antarctic Meteorite Collection Robot

The goal of this project is to develop an autonomous robot to identify and then flag or collect meteorites found in the Allan Hills ice field in Antarctica. The robot must traverse long rippled ice fields as well as the rocky moraines that make up the terrain of the Allan Hills ice field. It must meet both the legal requirements of a machine operating in Antarctica, as well as collect and handle meteorites in a way that meets ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) standards. My role in this project was to develop a three-axis mechanism capable of accurately positioning a gripper/claw above a meteorite with the aid of an onboard vision system so that it can be extracted, tagged and deposited in a contamination-free storage system. The final design uses linear sliders in combination with two ball screws oriented at 90 degrees to move the gripper into position in the horizontal plane, and a winch to move it in the vertical plane.