An amphibious robot for surf zone science and environmental monitoring

An amphibious ground robot was designed, built and tested as a prototype for a mobile sensor and sampler carrier to conduct surveys on sandy beaches in the surf zone. The Lake Michigan Amphibious Robot (LMAR) is a heavy vehicle in the shape of a squat box with a low center of gravity for stability and a broad mounting plate that can accommodate a variety of scientific instruments. The vehicle is topped by a mast that holds a radio Ethernet bridge to permit communications to shore for control and for data transmission. LMAR is battery powered and driven by two brushless DC motors. Initially LMAR was propelled by a pair of tracks that proved to be problematic in the sandy beach environment. The tracks were replaced with 6 wheels, three on each side, that were more effective on dry and wet sand but still posed problems in the surf. Presented here is the motivation, design and test results of the robot along with plans for the future.