Semi-Autonomous Robotic Sampler for Explosives Residues in Surface Soils

Abstract

A 25-kg, dual-track robot was built to satisfy the sampling protocol for surface explosives residues in soils. A rotary-tube cutter takes fairly consistent samples in a variety of soil conditions. Each sample bag holds about 30 samples to form a composite that represents the sampled area. An onboard carousel holds six bags: five composite samples and a sixth bag to clean the tube to minimize cross-contamination. We designed the robot to operate autonomously to collect a composite sample, log the coordinates of the area sampled, complete a composite within about 20 minutes, and operate without intervention for about 2 hours. A person may tele-operate the robot between sampling areas and to and from a base station where batteries and sample bags may be replenished.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA423935

Entities

People

  • Allison Morlock
  • Daniel Denton
  • James H. Lever
  • Ryan Meador
  • Thomas E. Nichols

Organizations

  • Engineer Research and Development Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cold Regions
  • Consistency
  • Control Systems
  • Design Criteria
  • Diameters
  • Efficiency
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Field Tests
  • Hand Grenades
  • Moisture Content
  • Munitions
  • Navigation
  • Particles
  • Statistical Sampling
  • Teleoperation
  • Unexploded Ammunition

Readers

  • Aerosol Science/Aerosol Physics
  • Agricultural Chemistry/Soil Science
  • Robotics and Automation.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - Autonomous Systems
  • AI & ML - Bayesian Inference
  • AI & ML - Machine Translation
  • Autonomy