Advances in the Robotic Search for Antarctic Meteorites

Dimi Apostolopoulos
Robotics Institute
Carnegie Mellon University

Place and Time

1305 Newell-Simon Hall
Refreshments 3:15 pm
Talk 3:30 pm

Abstract

Meteorites falling to Earth provide the only significant source of geological material from other planets and asteroids. Although meteorites fall randomly, some unique terrestrial regions contain substantial concentrations. The premier example is Antarctica where large numbers of meteorites drift with the ice flow and concentrate on "stranding surfaces", areas in which wind ablation of obstructed ice flow exposes meteorites and rocks. Antarctica's cold, pristine environment - as well as its low weathering rates - contributes to the preservation of meteorites.

The Robotic Search for Antarctic Meteorites project has researched methods and technologies for autonomous search of meteorites in icefields with a mobile robot. Using a winterized version of Nomad - a robot that explored 220 km in the Atacama desert in 1997 - we have developed autonomous navigation for polar terrains, intelligent search and in situ identification and classification of rocks and meteorites. Nomad's expedition to Antarctica in 1998 yielded significant insights into the performance of stereo vision and laser range finding perception on ice and snow, into the effectiveness of patterned search for optimal area coverage and into the utility of high-resolution imagery and spectroscopy in identifying meteorites from terrestrial rocks.

In this presentation, I will first summarize the autonomous meteorite search problem. I will then detail Science Autonomy, Nomad's planning and control architecture. Last I will critique results from the 1998 expedition and will preview the upcoming Antarctic demonstration, which will feature fully integrated autonomous navigation and science capabilities including precise manipulation of scientific instruments on samples.

Speaker Biography

Dr. Dimi Apostolopoulos is a systems scientist at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University. He leads space robotics research including robots for autonomous scientific exploration and robotic worksystems for space solar power facilities. His primary research interests are robotic mobility, robots for extreme environments and mechatronic system design. Dr. Apostolopoulos holds a Diploma and a M.E. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Aristotle University of Salonica, Greece, and Carnegie Mellon, respectively. He received a Ph.D. degree in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon in 1998.

Speaker Appointments

For appointments, please contact the host and speaker, Dimi Apostolopoulos (da1v@ri.cmu.edu) and Dimi Apostolopoulos (Dimi Apostolopoulos).