A Configurable Solid Sampling System for AUV/ROV Icefin

Sampling systems on small underwater vehicles are needed to enable important aspects of ocean and polar science and represent a compelling design challenge. We describe the design of a system for in situ ice and sediment sampling aboard the Icefin vehicle. Small robotic riverbed sediment samplers designed to minimize the ballast weight by using novel methods of generating coring forces show that lightweight underwater vehicles can successfully collect solid samples, but their form factors make them ill-suited to be deployed in polar environments. We explore the design and development of a functional prototype of a manipulator arm with a sediment sampling end effector, investigate the design improvements required for the system to be deployed as a part of Icefin's payload using both tests from the prototype as well as simulations of expected dynamics, and provide recommendations for adjusting the system for ice coring. We find that a prototype of the system is able to penetrate test sediment up to 1.5 inches and verifies the model of the system that is used to iterate upon the design.