MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

SnoMotes rovers to help collect data on melting ice shelves

US researchers from the universities of Georgia and Pennsylvania have created specially designed robots, called SnoMotes which will help collect information on the world's ice melting shelves in the Arctic and Antarctica.

While most of the data scientists need such as temperatures, wind speed, humidity, and radiation can be obtained by satellite, it is not as accurate as on-site measurement but static ground-based weather stations don't allow scientists to collect info from as many locations as they'd like. Besides in this case those locations are volatile ice sheets, possibly cracking, shifting and filling with water. With this in mind researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, working with Pennsylvania State University created the SnoMotes to traverse potentially dangerous ice environments. SnoMotes work as a team, autonomously collaborating among themselves to cover all the necessary ground to gather assigned scientific measurements. Data gathered by the Snomotes could give scientists a better understanding of the important dynamics that influence the stability of ice sheets. "In order to say with certainty how climate change affects the world's ice, scientists need accurate data points to validate their climate models" said Ayanna Howard, lead on the project and an associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. "Our goal was to create rovers that could gather more accurate data to help scientists create better climate models. It's definitely science-driven robotics." Howard unveiled the SnoMotes at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Pasadena, California last May. SnoMotes will also be part of an exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry this month. The research was funded by a grant from NASA's Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) Program. Howard, who previously worked with rovers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is working with Magnus Egerstedt, an associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Derrick Lampkin, an assistant professor in the Department of Geography at Penn State who studies ice sheets and how changes in climate contribute to changes in these large ice masses. Lampkin currently takes ice sheet measurements with satellite data and ground-based weather stations, but would prefer to use the more accurate data possible with the simultaneous ground measurements that efficient rovers can provide. "The changing mass of Greenland and Antarctica represents the largest unknown in predictions of global sea-level rise over the coming decades. Given the substantial impact these structures can have on future sea levels, improved monitoring of the ice sheet mass balance is of vital concern," Lampkin said. "We're developing a scale-adaptable, autonomous, mobile climate monitoring network capable of capturing a range of vital meteorological measurements that will be employed to augment the existing network and capture multi-scale processes under-sampled by current, stationary systems." The SnoMotes are autonomous robots and are not remote-controlled. They use cameras and sensors to navigate their environment. Though current prototype models don't include a full range of sensors, the robots will eventually be equipped with all the sensors and instruments needed to take measurements specified by the scientist. While Howard's team works on versatile robots with the mobility and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) skills to complete missions, Lampkin's team will be creating a sensor package for later versions of Howard's rovers. Here's how the SnoMotes will work when they're ready for their glacial missions: The scientist will select a location for investigation and decide on a safe "base camp" from which to release the SnoMotes. The SnoMotes will then be programmed with their assigned coverage area and requested measurements. The researcher will monitor the SnoMotes' progress and even reassign locations and data collection remotely from the camp as necessary. The first phase of the project is focused primarily on testing the mobility and communications capabilities of the SnoMote rovers. Later versions of the rovers will include a more developed sensor package and larger rovers. The team has created three working SnoMote models so far, but as many SnoMotes as necessary can work together on a mission, Howard said. The SnoMote represents two key innovations in rovers: a new method of location and work allocation communication between robots and maneuvering in ice conditions. Once placed on site, the robots place themselves at strategic locations to make sure all the assigned ground is covered. Howard and her team are testing two different methods that allow the robots to decide amongst themselves which positions they will take to get all the necessary measurements. The first is an "auction" system that lets the robots "bid" on a desired location, based on their proximity to the location (as they move) and how well their instruments are working or whether they have the necessary instrument (one may have a damaged wind sensor or another may have low battery power). The second method is more mathematical, fixing the robots to certain positions in a net of sorts that is then stretched to fit the targeted location. Magnus Egerstedt is working with Howard on this work allocation method. While the SnoMotes are expected to pass their first real field test in Alaska next month, a heartier, more cold-resistant version will be needed for the Antarctic and other well below zero climates, Howard said. These new rovers would include a heater to keep circuitry warm enough to function and sturdy plastic exterior that wouldn't become brittle in extreme cold. (Georgia Tech.).-