Robotic Site Characterization With On-Board Sampling and Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for characterizing impacted sites with compounds of potential concern (COPCs) are labor-intensive, costly, and pose human health and safety risks due to the need for manual sampling and analysis, especially in challenging and hazardous environments.
Innovation Solution
A mobile testing and evaluation vehicle equipped with sensors, a controller, and mobility features that allows for autonomous movement and sampling within a zone of interest, enabling the characterization of COPCs without human intervention and in various environmental conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual sampling and analysis methods are used, then human crews can collect and analyze samples, but this leads to increased human health and safety risks, higher costs, and longer time consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic platform performs sampling and analysis autonomously without requiring human crews to physically traverse hazardous terrain. The system serves itself by integrating both sampling mechanisms and analytical instruments, eliminating the need for human intervention while maintaining continuous operational capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical sampling operations with an automated robotic system equipped with sensors and analytical instruments. This substitution eliminates human exposure to hazardous environments while enabling continuous, high-density sampling at accelerated rates.
2Measurement precision
If high sampling density is used to reduce uncertainty, then better delineation of COPC distribution is achieved, but this increases the time and cost required for multiple rounds of follow-up sampling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges sample collection and analytical measurement into a single integrated robotic operation. By combining the sampling mechanism with on-board analytical instruments, the system performs both functions simultaneously, eliminating the sequential time loss associated with transporting samples to external laboratories and enabling immediate feedback for subsequent sampling decisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic platform performs preliminary analytical measurements at the time of sampling, providing immediate data that guides subsequent sampling decisions. This preliminary action eliminates the waiting period traditionally required for laboratory analysis, allowing the system to adaptively plan and execute follow-up sampling rounds without time loss.
3Adaptability or versatility
If portable analytical devices are used, then field analysis capability is improved, but these devices are cumbersome, time-consuming, and not intrinsically safe for sites with flammable vapors
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic platform integrates multiple analytical instruments and sampling capabilities into a single universal system. Rather than deploying separate portable devices for each function, the system combines sample collection, preparation, and multiple types of analytical measurements in one integrated platform, eliminating the need for multiple specialized devices while maintaining field adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system acts as an intermediary between the hazardous environment and human operators. By placing analytical instruments on the robot rather than having humans directly handle samples and operate portable devices in hazardous conditions, the system enables field analysis capability while eliminating safety concerns related to flammable vapors and improving ease of operation through remote, automated control.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile testing and evaluation vehicle can include a body and a mobility feature disposed on the body, where the mobility feature is configured to move the body with respect to a zone of interest. The mobile testing and evaluation vehicle can also include a sensor device configured to obtain a measurement of a parameter associated with a sample in the zone of interest. The mobile testing and evaluation vehicle can further include a controller that is configured to receive the measurement, evaluate the sample based on the measurement, and evaluate the zone of interest based on evaluating the sample.