The AR4 robotic arm by Chris Annin of Annin Robotics was recently deployed in Bruniquel Cave, France, where ancient structures crafted from stalagmites have been uncovered. These mysterious stone circles, believed to be built by early humans who came before us, demonstrate capabilities previously thought exclusive to modern humans.

The AR4 played a crucial role in navigating the fragile cave environment, aiding researchers in studying these formations without causing damage. Paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer noted that the structures, capable of supporting fires, suggest that these ancient people engaged in complex planning and construction deep within the dark caves.

They are also planning to use the AR4 arm again in another project, called “ROBOMINERS” (www.robominers.eu). The idea of one of the experiments is to automate electric resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements in a mine gallery. An electrode array is attached to the AR4 toolhead and needs to touch the mine wall in a pre-defined pattern (roughly along a vertical plane) to make the measurements.

What exactly is ROBOMINERS? ROBOMINERS is a project funded under the European Union’s Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020 (grant agreement n°820971) with the strategic objective to facilitate EU access to mineral raw materials. ROBOMINERS’ innovative approach combines the creation of a new mining ecosystem with novel ideas from other sectors, particularly with the inclusion of disruptive concepts from robotics.