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August 03, 2010
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Robotic mini-snowmobiles ply the Arctic
July 18, 2008
Courtesy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
and World Science staff
Three snowmobiles zipped over a tricky terrain in Alaska’s outback last June, but they were no
ordinary recreational vehicles. They were toy-size robots called SnoMotes—the first prototype network of their kind envisioned to rove treacherous polar areas. Their job is to take better measurements to help scientists understand the rapid melting of ice in those regions, which researchers generally blame on
global warming. Project lead Ayanna Howard, a Georgia Tech engineering professor, poses with
a SnoMote robot she co-designed in preparation for a field test in June
in Alaska.
(Credit: University of Alaska Southeast/
Engineer Ayanna Howard of the Georgia Institute of Technology worked with Pennsylvania State University scientists to create the devices. They’re designed to move over cracking and shifting ice in pursuit of pressure, temperature, and humidity measurements to help improve climate models.
The current SnoMotes, about two feet (60 cm) long and half as wide, are prototypes of what Howard said will be full-scale devices about twice the size.
To save money, the prototypes were made from discontinued remote-controlled,
snowmobile-shaped plastic toys. These were refitted with sensors, microprocessors, and cameras,
building on work Howard did as a former member of NASA’s Mars technology program
team. There she had designed an autonomous Mars rover called SmartNav.
Similar devices might be useful on Earth to “advance what we know about how changes in climate affect ice sheets and glaciers,” said Howard, lead researcher on the NASA-funded SnoMotes project.
In June, Howard and colleagues from the University of Alaska Southeast completed tests of the SnoMotes on the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. To assess the robots’ ability to navigate and communicate, the researchers released three SnoMotes onto a landscape with ice, deep snow, crevices and “sun cups,” rough patches that develop when the sun partially melts icy areas.
The machines moved “without difficulty and we were able to communicate with them… without any noticeable errors,” said Howard.
“This is the third rendition of the robot,” she added. “In the development stage, I considered the nature of ice and snow and how people actually walk on both. The first version of the robot had legs. We then shifted to a hybrid leg-and-wheel design that allowed the wheels to maneuver out of snow patches if the legs became stuck. We finally thought about the other ways in which scientists travel on the icy Arctic terrain, and decided to use a
snowmobile-type design to solve the maneuverability problems.”
Howard and colleagues hope to create a cheap final model of the
SnoMotes that will be scalable into a network useable by many researchers, with 30 to 40 robots located across the Arctic. During future tests, Howard plans to assess whether
many SnoMotes can use advanced artificial intelligence skills and enhanced mobility to navigate simultaneously, distinguish varying types of terrain and communicate with
each other.
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Three snowmobiles zipped over a tricky terrain in Alaska’s outback last June, but they were no ordinary recreational vehicles. They were toy-size robots called SnoMotes—the first prototype network of their kind envisioned to rove treacherous polar areas. Their job is to take better measurements to help scientists understand the rapid melting of ice in those regions, which researchers generally blame on global warming. Engineer Ayanna Howard of the Georgia Institute of Technology worked with Pennsylvania State University scientists to create the devices. They’re designed to move over cracking and shifting ice in pursuit of pressure, temperature, and humidity measurements to help improve climate models. The current SnoMotes, about two feet (60 cm) long and half as wide, are prototypes of what Howard said will be full-scale devices about twice the size. To save money, the prototypes were made from discontinued remote-controlled plastic snowmobile-shaped toys. Her team adapted these with sensors, microprocessors, and cameras—building on innovations she developed as a former member of NASA’s Mars technology program team, designing an autonomous Mars rover called SmartNav. Similar devices might be useful on Earth to “advance what we know about how changes in climate affect ice sheets and glaciers,” said Howard, lead researcher on the NASA-funded SnoMotes project. In June, Howard and researchers from the University of Alaska Southeast completed tests of the SnoMotes on the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. To assess the robots’ ability to navigate and communicate, the researchers released three SnoMotes onto a landscape with ice, deep snow, crevices and “sun cups,” rough patches that develop when the sun partially melts icy areas. The machines moved “without difficulty and we were able to communicate with them… without any noticeable errors,” said Howard. “This is the third rendition of the robot,” she added. “In the development stage, I considered the nature of ice and snow and how people actually walk on both. The first version of the robot had legs. We then shifted to a hybrid leg and wheel design that allowed the wheels to maneuver out of snow patches if the legs became stuck. We finally thought about the other ways in which scientists travel on the icy Arctic terrain, and decided to use a snowmobile-type design to solve the maneuverability problems.” Howard and colleagues hope to create a cheap final model of the SnoMotes that will be scalable into a network useable by many researchers, with 30 to 40 robots located across the Arctic. During future tests, Howard plans to assess whether multiple SnoMotes can use advanced artificial intelligence skills and enhanced mobility to navigate simultaneously, distinguish varying types of terrain and communicate with one another.