Interactive Mobile Aqua Probing & Surveillance

在生物学和生态学教育和研究中，传统的野外采样方法需要在预定的离散位置(例如网格上的点)采集样本，并将其带回实验室进行分析。尽管目前的一些技术，如分布式传感器，提供了一种连续观察固定节点位置的基本方法，但它们缺乏关键的机动性和灵活性，因此需要一种成本效益高的机器人交互式移动水生探测与监测(IMAPS)设备来监测水污染并研究微观世界的生态状况。该项目的目标是通过开发一种廉价的机器人IMAPS设备来满足这一需求。罗文大学工程学院和文理学院正在建立一个学习网络，来自任何地方的学生都可以检索部署在不同地点的IMAP舰队收集的数据。在这个项目中，我们：1.设计、建造和测试一个机器人监视和测试设备，以远程测试水体并与其用户实时通信。在整个生物和工程学课程中构建和实施动手实验，强调综合和多学科方法。设计、开发和传播使用我们的新设备探索自然和监测污染的实验和算法。培养学生的高级思维能力，要求他们在环境影响方面应用工程学，反之亦然。创建一个学习社区，工程系和生物系的学生和教职员工在一起工作的同时相互授课和学习。提供低成本的设备和算法，以加强K-12学校，特别是经济困难的公立学校之间的生物和生态学教育和网络。该项目建立在罗文工程项目和生物科学系之间现有的合作基础上，这两个部门都强调实验设计和动手学习。在整个项目中，我们正在促进来自两个不同智力背景的教师和学生之间的相互教与学。我们预计该项目的影响将远远超出罗文大学。其目的是使生物和工程领域的人员能够在对采样环境造成最小损害或干扰的情况下对水体进行采样和研究。由于该系统的低成本(如果被广泛采用和商业化，成本甚至更低)，许多学生，特别是那些经济困难的学校的学生，可以前所未有地获得研究设备和技术，并扩大与我们建议建立的网络内外部专业人员的联系。这可以让更多的学生在野外或虚拟野外旅行中探索野外或测试水质，在那里他们可以通过互联网远程操作采样设备。最后，通过为当地社区提供一个方便的工具，更多的人应该能够轻松地监测水污染并查明污染源，从而帮助监测和维护水质。

In biology and ecology education and research, traditional methods of field sampling require collecting samples at predetermined, discrete locations (e.g. points on a grid) and bringing them back into the laboratory for analysis. Although some current technologies, such as distributed sensors, provide a basic way to continuously observe fixed nodal positions, their lack of crucial mobility and flexibility calls for a cost-efficient robotic Interactive Mobile Aqua Probing & Surveillance (IMAPS) device to monitor water pollution and study ecological conditions in microcosms. The objective of this project is to address this need by developing an inexpensive robotic IMAPS device. An integrated effort by the College of Engineering and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Rowan University is creating a learning network where students from anywhere can retrieve data collected by the fleet of IMAPS deployed in varying locations.In this project we are:1. Designing, building, and testing a robotic surveillance and testing device to remotely test a water body and communicate with its users in real-time.2. Constructing and implementing hands-on experiments throughout the Biology and Engineering curricula that emphasize an integrated and multidisciplinary approach.3. Designing, developing and disseminating experiments and algorithms that employ our new device to explore nature and monitor pollution.4. Developing students' high-level thinking skills by requiring them to apply engineering in terms of environmental impact and vice versa.5. Creating a learning community where students and faculty from both Engineering and Biology departments are teaching and learning from each other while working together.6. Providing a low-cost device and algorithms to enhance biology and ecology education and networking among K-12 schools, especially financially disadvantaged public schools.This project builds upon existing collaborations between the Rowan engineering programs and the Department of Biological Sciences, both of which emphasize experimental design and hands-on learning. Throughout the project, we are promoting mutual teaching and learning among faculty and students from the two different intellectual backgrounds. We anticipate the project will have an impact that extends well beyond Rowan University. The aim is that those in the fields of both biology and engineering will be able to sample and study water bodies with minimal damage or disturbance to the sampling environment. With the low cost of the system (and even lower cost if widely adopted and commercialized), many students, especially those at financially disadvantaged schools, can have unprecedented access to both research equipment and technology as well as the expanded connection to external expertise within the network we propose to create. This could enable more students to explore the wild or test water quality either in the field or on a virtual field trip where they can operate the sampling device remotely via the Internet. Finally, by providing a convenient tool to local communities, a greater number of people should be able to easily monitor water pollution and pinpoint a polluting source, hence helping to both monitor and maintain water quality.