Return of the Robot Tomb Raiders

Posted 27 Aug 2002 at 14:07 UTC by steve

NewScientist.com has a story on a new robotic exploration of the Great Pyramid in Egypt. As part of the Chicago University's Giza Plateau Mapping Project a robot will be sent 64 meters down a 20cm x 20cm shaft to examine a stone blocking the passage using force gauges and ground penetrating radar. It will also attempt to a push fiber optic camera through any cracks it can find to see what's beyond the blockage. In the early 1990's four other robots explored the Pyramids as part of the Upuaut Project.

Correction..., posted 27 Aug 2002 at 21:39 UTC by steve » (Master)

jjwiseman points out that there is no institution named "Chicago University". However, there is a Chicago university that goes by the name "University of Chicago". In my defense, NewScientist.com made the mistake, I merely propagated it. ;-) Anyway, my apologies to any alumni for the mistake!

This is cool, posted 28 Aug 2002 at 20:44 UTC by jeffkoenig » (Master)

I wasn't aware of the website, but I saw a special on television a few years ago about these robots. This seems like a great (killer?) application for little robots. I wonder what other environments exist that could benefit from this type of exploration?