Design of a lightweight, low-cost geophysical survey vehicle

A remote-controlled vehicle has been designed at Pacific Northwest Laboratory for surveying sites that are dangerous for manned vehicles. The vehicle is required to be small, maneuverable, inexpensive, and as free of metallic parts as practicable. The prototype being fabricated will have a mostly aluminum engine, dual bicycle tire wheel assemblies, a two-clutch steering system for selective engagement of pairs of wheels on either side of the vehicle, and radio control with fiber-optic umbilical video link. Wireless control and telemetry are planned for the future. Other future possibilities include a mostly plastic engine and a global positioning system that uses satellite signals. 3 figs