Cool concept

An innovative concept for an Antarctic vehicle has been unveiled this week at the Royal College of Art’s final year show in the UK.

Working closely with experts from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), award-winning designer James Moon has come up with a lightweight, compact eco-friendly vehicle for use in one of the Earth’s most extreme environments.

The vehicle, called “Ninety Degrees South” keeps drivers safe, warm and protected from the high levels UV exposure that occur under the Antarctic ozone hole.

Designed to fit into a small Twin Otter aircraft that BAS use for working in remote deep field locations, Moon’s two-person vehicle has a combination of tracks and wheels allow it to operate anywhere on the continent over hard ground, snow or ice surfaces.

It also comes with an unmanned pathfinder which travels on a GPS controlled route ahead of the main unit. The pathfinder is secured by a 30m umbilical cord and uses ground-penetrating radar to assess risk.