Collaborative Research: Cool Robot to support Greenland science campaigns

拟议的项目将改进Cool Robot，这是一个自主的太阳能移动的机器人，并展示其在格陵兰进行远距离重要科学观测的潜力。两个实地部署，第二年在Summit Camp周围进行为期一周的巡回赛，第三年从Summit到NEEM并返回1，500公里，将收集有关雪表面特征和海拔的数据，作为卫星数据和空气样本的地面实况，以评估雪表面附近大气化学的空间和时间变化。地面数据收集对于加深我们对格陵兰冰川学和环境科学的了解至关重要。达特茅斯学院、UNH和CRREL之间的这个合作项目建立在一个成功的探索性研究小额赠款的基础上，这是一个以学生为基础的试点研究，设计、制造和现场测试了简单的四轮驱动、太阳能驱动的酷机器人。该项目将提供关于机器人移动性、动力系统、导航和通信的关键性能数据，从而为扩大移动的机器人的使用以支持格陵兰岛的科学和物流业务开辟道路。酷机器人的潜在用途是穿越收集冰川学数据，雪表征研究气候变化，生物采样，大气和雪化学和光化学调查，微陨石采样和陨石场现场检查，裂缝探测在载人穿越之前，机场地球物理调查，和例行的雪路调查。移动的机器人阵列将使科学仪器能够根据初步数据动态定位或对特定事件作出反应。基于阵列的活动可以包括使用各种仪器对极地大气、磁层、对流层和冰下地质进行研究：磁力计、GPS接收器、雪的特性测量和地面穿透雷达。该项目支持仪器开发和部署，提高物流能力，并使用Cool Robot降低成本，同时也是培养工程和北极研究学生的机会。浏览Cool Robots网站http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/crobots/。

The proposed project will refine the Cool Robot, an autonomous solar-powered mobile robot, and demonstrate its potential to conduct significant scientific observations in Greenland over vast distances. Two field deployments, a week-long circuit around Summit Camp in year two and a 1,500-km traverse from Summit to NEEM and back in year three, will collect data on snow-surface characteristics and elevations as ground truth for satellite data and air samples to assess spatial and temporal variations in atmospheric chemistry near the snow surface. Ground-based data collection is crucial to furthering our understanding of glaciology and environmental sciences in Greenland. This collaborative project among Dartmouth College, UNH and CRREL builds on a successful Small Grant for Exploratory Research, a student-based pilot study that designed, fabricated, and field-tested the simple four-wheel drive, solar-powered Cool Robot. This project will provide critical performance data on robot mobility, power systems, navigation and communications over a vast polar snowfield and thus forge a path to expand the use of mobile robots to support science and logistics operations in the Greenland. Potential uses of the Cool Robot are traverses to collect glaciological data, snow characterization to study climate change, biological sampling, atmospheric and snow chemistry and photochemistry surveys, micrometeorite sampling and site inspections for meteorite fields, crevasse detection in advance of manned traverses, airfield geophysical surveys, and routine snow-road surveys. Arrays of mobile robots would allow scientific instruments to be dynamically positioned based on preliminary data or to respond to specific events. Array-based campaigns could include study of the polar atmosphere, magnetosphere, troposphere, and sub-glacial geology using a diverse set of instruments: magnetometers, GPS receivers, snow property measurement, and ground penetrating radar. The project supports instrument development and deployment, increased logistics capability and reduced costs using the Cool Robot, and is an opportunity to train students in engineering and arctic research. View the Cool Robots website http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/crobots/.