YEKATERINBURG, August 13. /TASS/. The Urals Federal University’s specialists designed an uncrewed vehicle, which will deliver fuel, including gas, to electric energy sources in the Arctic, the University’s Center on Cooperation with Industries’ Deputy Director Alexander Cherepanov told TASS on Tuesday.
"For local energy sources to be operational, regular deliveries of fuel, including gas are required," he commented. "Traditional pipelines are rather expensive, and in the Extreme North it may be impossible to lay a pipeline in certain areas."
The uncrewed vehicles will resemble ATVs. The main criterion is high reliability, as it will be impossible to fix any failures en route. The vehicles will press the soil lightly and will run along allocated routes, thus they will not damage the thin fertile layer of soil in the Arctic, the expert added.
The first tests are due in 2020. Presently, the designers are developing positioning equipment, which may work in two modes: using satellites or sensors. "Using this data, the system will understand where it deviates," he stated. "When the initial point is known, the current point is also known."
Local security sensors permit or ban the vehicle’s movement. Moving on may be banned if the sensors "see" obstacles, like people, animals, fallen trees or stones. The sensors will identify the obstacle to avoid collisions.
The Urals Federal University is the major university in the Urals Federal District. It has 13 scientific laboratories, run by leading foreign scientists.