Frontiers of Engineering Reports on Leading-Edge Engineering from the 2004 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering (2005) / Chapter Skim
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Cool Robots: Scalable Mobile Robots for Instrument Network Deployment in Polar Climates--Laura R. Ray, Alexander D. Price, Alexander Streeter, Daniel Denton, and James H. Lever
Cool Robots: Scalable Mobile Robots for Instrument Network Deployment in Polar Climates--Laura R. Ray, Alexander D. Price, Alexander Streeter, Daniel Denton, and James H. Lever
Pages 5-16
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From page 5... ...
LEVER U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Hanover, New Hampshire The Antarctic plateau is a unique location to study the upper atmosphere at high magnetic latitudes because it provides a stable environment for sensitive instruments that measure interactions between the solar wind and the earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere.
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From page 6... ...
Semiautonomous network deployment would also free limited aircraft and human resources for other missions. The harsh weather of polar environments, long-range requirements, navigation issues, and variable terrain pose significant design challenges for inexpensive unmanned vehicles.
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Reprinted with permission. Spirit and Opportunity are Mars exploration rovers developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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The vast central plateau covers more than five million square kilometers of relatively flat, crevasse-free terrain. A second large area of operation is the Ross Ice Shelf.
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From page 9... ...
in the dense snow of the Antarctic plateau, sinkage should be small. The estimated total resistance of 0.25 for a 90kg vehicle will require a net traction force of 221 N
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From page 10... ...
With low elevation angles and significant reflected solar energy, nearly vertical solar panels will be optimal. Also, the efficiency of solar cells increases as temperature decreases.
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From page 11... ...
Even the back panel receives substantial radiation because the robot's shadow is not as large as the area of snow that reflects light to the panel. Enabling technology for the robot is the affordable, 20 percent efficient, A300 solar cell by Sunpower, Inc., which became available in 2003.
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From page 12... ...
FIGURE 5 Panel power capacities in nominal Antarctic sun. 7 show predicted power available to the motors for a robot using 54 of these cells per panel (each cell is 12.5 × 12.5 cm)
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From page 13... ...
, is in force for short periods, after which the hiker returns to the path. In the initial stages of research, global navigation is being used, primarily through GPS and speed control, with sensors to detect unbalanced wheel speeds and hence potential problems with traction, and low-bandwidth path-correction algorithms to reduce "dither" around the path.
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From page 14... ...
Thus, we will construct the solar panels in house, using quarter-inch honeycomb sandwich panels (Nomex core with fiberglass facing)
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From page 15... ...
Waypoint navigation on the relatively obstacle-free plateau through GPS can provide long-distance travel appropriate to the scientific missions envisioned. Mobile robots capable of reliable, long-term operation on the Antarctic plateau can potentially advance scientific research through instrument deployment, mapping, and the provision of portable mobile power.
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From page 16... ...
2004. Daily Average Horizontal Insolation at the South Pole.
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