After working on the next generation of robots for NASA’s exploration of Mars, Ayanna Howard wondered if a similar rover could be used to collect multiple science measurements on this planet, especially in the polar regions.

 In June, three SnoMotes, designed by Howard and a team of engineers and scientists, were on the ice of Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska for their first field tests.  

Although the test vehicles were only two feet long and one foot wide and cobbled together from snowmobile-shaped toys, they were successful in doing what future fleets of these rovers are expected to do—travel treacherous areas of the Arctic and Antarctic, taking accurate measurements and sharing information.  

The SnoMotes are autonomous, science-driven robots, not operated by remote controls. The human researcher will select a location for investigation and then program the vehicles for their assigned coverage and measurements. SnoMotes will be able to communicate with each other during their missions, including deciding where to position themselves to get necessary measurements. The researcher will monitor the SnoMotes’ progress and can reassign them.

Finding locations in snow conditions raised some concerns among the designers until one of Howard’s students at Georgia Tech discovered the robots could use snow banks as markers. The robots can also navigate with global positioning systems (GPS). In their first test, the SnoMotes maneuvered over ice, deep snow, crevices, and rough patches where the sun had partially melted the ice.  

The future network of robots will act as mobile weather stations, able to move where weather events are occurring. Eventually, scientists anywhere in the world may be able to access SnoMotes data on the web.  

Looking toward assignments in Antarctica’s severe cold climate, the researchers expect to outfit those rovers with heaters to keep their circuits warm.  

The project is funded by NASA and involves scientists and engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University in State College, and the University of Alaska Southeast. Project leader Ayanna Howard is an associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. Her area of research is centered on the process of embedding human cognitive capability into autonomous systems, such as the Mars rovers and the SnoMotes.