海底探査用掘削ロボットにおける水平掘削の検討

抄録

Mineral resources such as rare earths are deposited 2-3 m below the seafloor, and it is necessary to collect samples of seafloor sediments for detailed studies to elucidate their origin and existence. Currently, vertical drilling is commonly used to collect samples, but it is inefficient because the seafloor sediments are widely deposited horizontally. Therefore, we are developing a robotic seafloor explorer. In this study, we worked on horizontal drilling as the next stage. First, a mechanical model of the robot's penetration into the ground during horizontal excavation was developed, and the expected problems of horizontal drilling were discussed based on the model. After that, horizontal excavation experiments were conducted, and the problems were clarified from the result.