|
|
Ultralife Powers Cool Robots
 The Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College is designing and fabricating a lightweight mobile robot that enables deployment of instrument networks in Antarctica. The robot is using three of our UBI-2590 Lithium ION rechargeable batteries to store power generated from solar panels which is the robots sole source of power.  Their research task is the design and fabrication of a lightweight mobile robot that enables deployment of instrument networks in Antarctica. Potential missions include deploying arrays of magnetometers, seismometers, radio receivers and meteorological instruments, measuring ionosphere disturbances through synchronization of GPS signals, using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to survey crevasse-free routes for field parties or traverse teams, and conducting glaciological surveys with GPR. Robot arrays could also provide high-bandwidth communications links and mobile power systems for field scientists. They are focusing on the development of an inexpensive robotic means for distributing instrument networks. The robot needs to be able to withstand the typically cold temperatures and relatively light winds. Because of the size of the area to be covered, these robots need to be able to traverse long-distances in a short amount of time in order to maximize the time they are on station and taking data. Some means of communication over these long distances will be necessary, either for relaying instructions and/or transferring scientific data. In order to be cost-effective, the robot will require as little human interaction as possible - necessitating at least semi-autonomous, if not fully autonomous navigation over hundreds of kilometers. They also need to be light, both for ease of transport, but also due to the simple fact that lighter robots will not sink as deeply into the snow, which requires less power to move them. In order to lessen the environmental impact, as well as keep the size and weight down for such an endurance robot, a solar energy source is required. The following table numerically describes a number of these requirements.  Why Use Ultralife Batteries? UBI-2590’s were selected for this project because the voltage range is ideal for applications such as this. Their high energy density, high capacity and long cycle life were also of primary concern. And because weight is such a crucial factor in most robotics applications, the UBI2590’s were chosen because Lithium batteries are extremely lightweight. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cool Robot site: http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/other/crobots/pictures/testing/index.html Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College: http://thayer.dartmouth.edu/thayer/index.html Dartmouth College: http://www.dartmouth.edu/ |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ultralife Batteries brand - We. Are. Power. © Ultralife Corporation 2010. All rights reserved. | Home | Privacy | Legal | Site Map | Contact |
