Temporal and spatial benthic data collection via mobile robots: Present and future applications

The analogies between space and deep sea motivated the German Helmholtz Association to setup the joint research program ROBEX (ROBotic Exploration under eXtreme conditions). The programme objectives are to identify, develop and verify technological synergies between the robotic exploration of the Moon and of the deep sea. In both space and deep sea research orbiters and AUVs/gliders respectively provide a large set of information on the environment but landers and mobile robots are essential to ground truth the data and validate theories. Within ROBEX the mobility of robots is a vital element for research missions due to valuable science return potential from different sites as opposed to static landers. After 2.5 years of project-time three main mobile systems are prepared for demonstrationmissions, one wheel-based system for planetary missions, one wheel based system for extended deep-sea missions and a caterpillar system for high resolution investigation of small surface regions in the deep sea. In all cases sufficient onboard intelligence was needed. The mobile robots should also be capable of return to a central station for recharging, with the station equipped with enough battery power to allow multiple missions. The intelligent seafloor robot “iCrawler” is presented here, which is based on a tele-operated robot, which has been successfully used within the ONC (Ocean Networks Canada) cabled observatory project since 2010.