Technologies
Multi-Scale Approach
Terrestrial Robot equipped with TDL sensors
A quadruped terrestrial robot (Boston Dynamics “SPOT”) equipped with 2 to 3 tunable diode laser (TDL) sensors and real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS is deployed for collecting surface methane concentrations in challenging landfill environments. Methane concentrations are measured at multiple heights above the ground surface so that surface methane flux can be calculated using a steady-state diffusion model including turbulence and molecular diffusion mechanisms. RTK provides high-precision geospatial coordinates (cm-scale)
While the robot offers consistent stability, manual measurements are also conducted by personnel equipped with TDL sensors and RTK GPS to provide supplementary data or access beyond the robot’s coverage.
The following video clip shows our robotic platform equipped with TDL sensors and RTK that collects surface methane concentrations at multiple heights above the landfill surface while traversing landfill terrains. We are currently operating this robotic platform manually using a tablet. However, the team plans to establish an autonomous robotic monitoring system in the future.
