DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A ROBOT FOR POLAR REGION NAVIGATION By

• Main Author: Hans P. Harmon
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: x; Greenland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.221.3572; http://ittc.ku.edu/research/thesis/documents/hans_harmon_thesis.pdf

This thesis presents how to build, weather proof, and control a robot to perform waypoint navigation in polar regions. Several platforms are analyzed for the ability to survive polar environmental conditions, the ease of automation, payload capacity, and space available for extra equipment. A base platform is selected and then analyzed to determine what is required to actuate the driving of the vehicle. The selected vehicle then undergoes winterization, determining what modifications allow the vehicle to perform in polar regions. A weather proof enclosure is built to protect instruments on board the platform. Control software then performs waypoint navigation on a test platform and the main robot in both Kansas and Greenland. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the contributions, support and encouragement of others who have helped me to complete my thesis. I would like to recognize my thesis chair and adviser Dr. Arvin Agah for giving me guidance and a place to work. Next I say thanks to Dr. Chris Allen and Dr. Costas Tsatsoulas for