Engine-free platform aims to haul vehicles over bogs and ice

Researchers at R. E. Alekseev NGTU have unveiled a transport platform designed to help vehicles cross bogs, snow, mud, and icy sections without needing its own engine. A machine drives onto it much like a trailer, then powers the platform itself through its engine and hydraulic system.

The idea is to avoid building a separate all-terrain vehicle for every job. Instead, the platform gives standard equipment a short-range way to reach terrain where wheels normally stop being useful.

At the core of the design are rotary-screw propellers. Two screws mounted on the sides receive power from the vehicle being carried. On snow, water, and thick mud, they work like propellers. On ice and hard ground, traction comes from grips on the blades. The driver of the vehicle controls the system, and turning works on a layout similar to a tracked vehicle.

The university expects one platform could work with different kinds of machines, from tractors to robotic systems. That gives the concept a clear practical angle: instead of maintaining a fleet of highly specialized all-terrain vehicles, operators could use a single transport base for different tasks.

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According to the source, that could be especially relevant for northern regions, construction sites, geological exploration, and emergency services, where it may be cheaper than buying full screw-propelled vehicles. The screw-drive concept itself is not new: auger-rotor machines were used in the USSR, including in search-and-rescue systems for cosmonauts operating in swamps and virgin snow.

But classic versions have well-known drawbacks — they are slow, noisy, and awkward on normal surfaces. NGTU’s platform tries to sidestep some of those limits by not replacing the base vehicle entirely and only engaging when wheels can no longer cope.

The demand for this kind of transport in Russia is understandable, the source notes. Rosstat estimates that a significant share of the country falls into zones with difficult natural conditions, while in the Arctic and northern regions demand is growing for equipment delivery tied to extractive projects and infrastructure. Similar modular thinking has also appeared in recent years among makers of uncrewed platforms and tracked transporters trying to cut costs in hard-to-reach areas.

What happens next depends on testing under load. If the platform proves it can handle vehicles of different weights and shows durability for its screw mechanism on ice and in mud, it could move beyond a university prototype.