To help scientists collect the more detailed data they need in order to find out why the world’s ice shelves are melting, without risking scientists’ safety, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in conjunction with Pennsylvania State University, have created specially designed robots called SnoMotes to traverse these potentially dangerous ice environments.

The SnoMotes work as a team, autonomously collaborating among themselves to cover all the necessary ground to gather assigned scientific measurements. Data gathered by the Snomotes could give scientists a better understanding of the important dynamics that influence the stability of ice sheets.

Ayanna Howard, lead on the project and an associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech, explained: “In order to say with certainty how climate change affects the world’s ice, scientists need accurate data points to validate their climate models. Our goal was to create rovers that could gather more accurate data to help scientists create better climate models. It’s definitely science-driven robotics.”

Derrick Lampkin, an assistant professor in the Department of Geography at Penn State explained: “We’re developing a scale-adaptable, autonomous, mobile climate monitoring network capable of capturing a range of vital meteorological measurements that will be employed to augment the existing network and capture multi-scale processes under-sampled by current, stationary systems.”

The SnoMotes are autonomous robots and are not remote-controlled. They use cameras and sensors to navigate their environment. Though current prototype models don’t include a full range of sensors, the robots will eventually be equipped with all the sensors and instruments needed to take measurements specified by the scientist.

When the SnoMotes are ready for their mission, the scientist will select a location for investigation and decide on a safe “base camp” from which to release the SnoMotes. The SnoMotes will then be programmed with their assigned coverage area and requested measurements. The researcher will monitor the SnoMotes’ progress and even reassign locations and data collection remotely from the camp as necessary.

While the SnoMotes are expected to pass their first real field test in Alaska next month, a more cold-resistant version will be needed for the Antarctic and other well below zero climates.