oa UNEXUP, a game changing exploration technology for underwater environments

The UNEXUP project, funded under EIT RawMaterials, aims to commercially deploy a novel mineral exploration and mine mapping service based on the UNEXMIN technology – the predecessor project. The service intends to address the needs and requirements of mining companies, mine owners, geological surveys and other sectors that can benefit from an underwater surveying campaign with geoscientific scope. The core objectives of UNEXUP include a) Improvements in the UX-1 robotic platform developed within UNEXMIN, 2) Build an additional, more complex robot, with further capabilities and sensors; 3) Test the robots’ performance in different pilot tests, 4) Bring commercial interest to the technology and launch it to the market.

The current version of the robot, to be further developed and tested on software, hardware and capabilities in the second part of 2020, is already equipped with enough navigation and geoscientific instrumentation to perform exploration missions in underground flooded environments. The instrumentation includes visible light cameras, multispectral unit, UV cameras, gamma-ray counter, pH and Eh devices, thermometer, water sampler, scanning sonar and structured light systems.

A second robot will be designed and built in the second year of the project, which will further extend the exploration possibilities of the UNEXUP technology.