Amphibious robots as rapidly deployable near-shore observatories

We propose the use of groups of amphibious robots as near-shore observatories that can be rapidly deployed, recovered and redeployed in response to changing environmental conditions. They can serve to gather high spatial resolution data sets on the near-shore and surf zone regions required to support the development of computer models of these complex and dynamic environments. This paper is composed of two parts. The first introduces the concept of a robot-based near-shore observatory. The engineering challenges of such a system are discussed including: sensors, mobility and power, navigation, communications and control and autonomy. The second half of the paper presents a prototype amphibious robot being developed in our laboratory for scientific studies of the surf zone and beach environments. This vehicle could serve as a test bed for observatory technology development to explore the engineering issues, and potential solutions, discussed in this paper.