Field-tests of a redundantly actuated cable-driven robot for environmental sampling applications

In this paper, we present results from a field-test of NIMS-PL, a redundantly actuated cable-driven robot for aquatic applications. We describe installation procedures that enable rapid deployability and present results demonstrating precise calibration capabilities. Detection and correction of positional drift, which is critical for long-term autonomous deployments, is demonstrated, and the rate of system drift is quantified. An example actuated sensing experiment is performed that accurately maps the spatiotemporal variation of the intensity of light incident on a swimming pool. Finally, we propose an upcoming, environmentally significant deployment in which we will map variations in aquatic phenomena such as salinity and pH through the confluence region of two rivers.