Robotic Thermal System Pierces Through Toughest Quartzite

Sioux Quartzite is extremely durable against weathering and also against classical drilling. But a new thermal robot can chew through his mineral at a speed of about an inch per minute while being cheaper to run than traditional drilling systems.

Image by Wilfried Pohnke from Pixabay

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Sioux quartzite makes gorgeous scenery at the borders of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa. This reddish quartzite is estimated to be 1.6 – 1.8 billion years old. Quartzites are metamorphic minerals and are created when sandstone and puddingstone transform. They are brittle but very tough. Sioux quartzite is extremely tough and extremely durable against weathering and considered to be one of the toughest minerals on Earth.

It was on Sioux quartzite where the start-up company Petra from San Francisco showcased their robotic thermal drill. It can go through this extremely tough mineral like a knife through butter. All while Sioux quartzite is known for destroying normal drills. The thermal robot works so fast and so cheaply that it could lead to the realization of many projects that were so far completely unfeasible.

The semi-autonomous robotic system Swifty can drill a tunnel with a diameter of 46 – 152 through practically any geological material. It pierces through the minerals with extreme heat and high pressures leading to the dissolution of the material which first glows, charcoals, and then flies away.

The start-up Petra tested the thermal robot Swifty by drilling a tunnel in Sioux quartzite with a diameter of 60 centimeters and a length of 6 meters. The mineral that normally needs to be torn apart with dynamite and otherwise cannot be moved was chewed through at a speed of roughly 2.5 centimeters per minute.

The company says that their robotic system is controlled with a combination of remote control and machine learning. They also say it is the first micro-tunneling robot capable of reversing out of its own tunnel. Another of their claims is that drilling with their thermal robot is 30 – 90 cheaper than other comparable methods. It opens up the door to areas that were previously undrillable. This should result in key infrastructure being put underground much more cheaply for both the private and the public sectors.

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