Abstract: In November of 1998, an expedition from Carnegie Mellon University travelled to the Patriot Hills, Antarctica. The purpose of the expedition was to demonstrate autonomous navigation and robotic classi cation of meteorites and the characterization of various robotics technologies in a harsh, polar setting. This paper presents early results of experiments performed on this expedition with CCD cameras and laser range nders. It evaluates the ability of these sensors to characterize polar terrain. The e ect of weather on this characterization is also analyzed. The paper concludes with a discussion on the suitability of these sensors for Antarctic mobile robots.
Nicolas Vandapel, Stewart J. Moorehead, William Wh