Miniaturized Robotic Systems for Autonomous In-Situ Exploration of Critical Raw Materials In Deep Land Deposits

MINOTAUR seeks to address the exploration drilling problem from a novel and revolutionary perspective, bringing together geological principles and concepts involved in exploration drilling with modern technologies such as robotics, digital twin technology, and artificial intelligence.

Along the way, MINOTAUR proposes novel research directions in allied areas like geophysics, sensing technologies in geology, environmental impact modeling of whole mineral and production systems, numerical modeling of entire mineral systems related to critical raw materials, new drilling techniques, high-resolution sensing technologies, and artificial intelligence with novel data processing tools for a robust and expeditious geological assessment.MINOTAUR takes a fundamentally fresh look at exploration drilling and approaches it as a source seeking and resourcing mapping problem, drawing inspirations from solutions in robotics, but where geology is a central part of the decision, with the outcomes of exploration enhanced through artificial intelligence and digital twin technology.