โ Scribed by J. H. Lever; L. R. Ray; A. Streeter; A. Price
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Sensors mounted on mobile robots could serve a variety of science missions in Antarctica. Although weather conditions can be harsh, Antarctic snowfields offer unique conditions to facilitate longโdistance robot deployment: the absence of obstacles, firm snow with high albedo, and 24 h sunlight during the summer. We have developed a fourโwheelโdrive, solarโpowered rover that capitalizes on these advantages. Analyses and field measurements confirm that solar power reflected from Antarctic snow contributes 30โ40% of the power available to a robot consisting of a fiveโside box of solar panels. Mobility analyses indicate that the 80 kg rover can move at 0ยท8 m s^โ1^ during clear sky conditions on firm snow into a 5 m s^โ1^ headwind, twice the speed needed to achieve the design target of 500 km in 2 weeks. Local winter tests of the chassis demonstrated good gradeโclimbing ability and lower than predicted rolling resistance. Tests of the completed robot occurred in Greenland in 2005. Copyright ยฉ 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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