Hmmm, at first glance, the headline might seem to be rather sensational, as the focus should be more on the discovery of the yeti instead of cracks in the Antarctic ice, right? Actually, the cracks are more important, especially when you consider the yeti in question here would be a nickname for a robot. The Yeti rover gets around the bitter cold of the Antarctic environment using its ground-penetrating radar sled, where it will go around trying to “sniff out” dangerous crevasses so that convoys that cross the glaciers of Antarctica and Greenland will be able to avoid dangerous areas. Other than that, the Yeti robot’s “job” would include exploration of ice caves on an active volcano, among others.
With a ground-penetrating radar in tow, the Yeti robot can alert drivers to hidden breaks in the ice, and since it tips the scales at just 68kg, it is light enough to ford potential breaks in ice, and even if it does fall through, the only loss would be that of the robot, and with no human casualties.
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