A smart mining exploration robotic system for mineral detection, comprising:
- a chassis frame defining a primary load-support structure having a lower traction interface and an upper sensor interface, the chassis frame including internal compartments for mechanical transmission members and for housing control and processing components;
- a traction assembly connected to the lower traction interface of the chassis frame, the traction assembly for engagement with a terrain surface, the traction assembly comprising a plurality of locomotion modules, each locomotion module including a wheel body mounted on a rotational axle, a continuous track arranged around a drive sprocket and an idler sprocket, and a torque transition mechanism mechanically interconnecting the wheel body and the drive sprocket, the torque transition mechanism including a coupling shaft and a gear linkage configured to alternately transmit rotational motion to either the wheel body or the drive sprocket to enable selective conversion between wheel-driven operation and track-driven operation;
- a suspension assembly positioned between the chassis frame and the traction assembly, the suspension assembly comprising a plurality of link arms pivotally mounted to the chassis frame, each link arm coupled to one of the locomotion modules through a joint connector, and each link arm associated with a compression damper and a coil spring arranged in parallel, wherein displacement of a locomotion module relative to ground causes mechanical deflection of corresponding compression damper and coil spring to maintain contact pressure uniformity between the locomotion modules and the terrain surface;
- a sensor stabilization assembly mounted on the upper sensor interface of the chassis frame, the sensor stabilization assembly comprising a two-axis gimbal mechanism including a base ring rotatably mounted to the chassis frame about a first horizontal axis and an inner ring rotatably mounted to the base ring about a second vertical axis, the inner ring supporting a sensor carrier plate, the sensor carrier plate supporting a geological detection assembly including a ground-penetrating radar unit and a hyperspectral imaging unit, wherein rotation of the gimbal mechanism compensates angular displacement of the chassis frame to maintain the sensor carrier plate in a fixed spatial orientation during movement of the robotic system;
- a synchronizing drive assembly disposed within the chassis frame, the synchronizing drive assembly comprising a motion-transmission shaft coupled to each of the coupling shafts of each of the torque transition mechanisms, to actuator levers of each of the compression dampers, and to a pulley set mechanically connected to the gimbal mechanism, the motion-transmission shaft being configured to distribute coordinated rotational motion among each of the torque transition mechanisms, each of the compression dampers, and the gimbal mechanism in response to positional displacement of the suspension assembly;
- and
- a processing unit mounted within the chassis frame and mechanically coupled to the geological detection assembly through signal transmission lines, the processing unit being configured to receive reflected radar and hyperspectral data from the geological detection assembly, to correlate the reflected radar and hyperspectral data with an instantaneous mechanical state of the motion-transmission shaft and angular positions of the gimbal mechanism, and to generate mineral detection results based on a synchronized alignment between a sensed subsurface response and a physical position and orientation of the robotic system during locomotion,
- wherein the processing unit continuously monitors variations in torque transmitted through each of the gear linkages of each of the torque transition mechanisms during transitions between wheel-driven and track-driven configurations, and adjusts a radar beam incidence angle through the gimbal mechanism to maintain constant sub-surface penetration depth during said transitions, such that a radar signal enters the ground at uniform effective depth regardless of traction mode changes, maintaining continuity in subsurface mapping resolution;
- and wherein the processing unit computes a dynamic compensation factor for spectral distortion in hyperspectral imaging based on an instantaneous angular displacement of the inner ring relative to the base ring of the gimbal mechanism, said displacement corresponding to pitch and roll of the chassis frame, and the processing unit applies said dynamic compensation factor to each captured spectral frame to correct wavelength shift caused by optical angle deviation;
- wherein each of the coupling shafts and gear linkages of each of the torque transition mechanisms are mechanically phased to effect a simultaneous partial engagement of both wheel and track driving elements at predefined angular phases of the motion-transmission shaft, the simultaneous partial engagement producing a mixed-traction operational state that reduces abrupt change in ground contact forces during mode transition and providing a mechanically smoothed transition sequence across the plurality of locomotion modules;
- and wherein the torque applied to each of the wheel bodies is monitored through torsional reaction transmitted into each of the coupling shafts and the motion-transmission shaft, and wherein the processing unit receives said torsional reaction as mechanical-state input via signal converters located in the chassis frame and uses a temporal pattern of torsional reaction to infer slippage events in individual locomotion modules and trigger coordinated mechanical rebalancing of torque distribution across the traction assembly, and
- wherein the processing unit is operatively coupled to the motion-transmission shaft of the synchronizing drive assembly and configured to continuously monitor an angular velocity and direction of rotation of said motion-transmission shaft through a mechanical signal converter mounted in the chassis frame, and wherein the processing unit temporally associates each recorded angular position of the motion-transmission shaft with a timing of radar pulses and hyperspectral frame captures generated by the geological detection assembly supported on the sensor carrier plate of the sensor stabilization assembly, the temporal association allowing the processing unit to reconstruct, for every incremental rotation of the traction assembly, a corresponding subsurface reflection dataset indexed to the instantaneous mechanical state of the robotic system, such that variations in radar return phase and spectral reflectance intensity are interpreted relative to an actual orientation of the gimbal mechanism and a contact geometry of the plurality of locomotion modules with the terrain surface during movement of the chassis frame.