Surveying robot aids polar studies

Scientists working on the study of the polar ice caps have combined GPS technology with surveying equipment to create a rugged mobile remotely controlled vehicle that can help them study some of the most inaccessible parts of the world. The robot – dubbed Yeti, after the abominable snowman – has been put together by engineering researchers at the Ivy League’s Dartmouth University College. The four-wheel-drive vehicle uses GPS and ground-penetrating radar to negotiate rough terrain and has been specially adapted so that its systems can operate in temperatures of as low as -30 degrees Celsius. Laura Ray, the leader of the Yeti Project, said that the robot is proving to be a valuable asset to polar studies, despite being relatively inexpensive to initially develop. “It’s simple and inexpensive, yet effective,” she said. “On a $20,000 budget, designing from the ground up, undergraduates designed [and] fabricated a very reliable robot.” The 160 pound robot has so far been deployed on 12 separate projects in the Arctic and Antarctic, where it was used to rediscover structures that had been buried by snow and could have proven hazardous to people working in the area. The robot’s radar system allows it to detect crevasses and voids that human explorers might miss.