Expedition File: Robot Cave Explorer

[Jill Heinerth]

Dr. Bill Stone's 3D cave mapper-which was developed and tested in the caves at Wakulla Springs-is now being fitted for a trip to Jupiter's moon Europa.
A while back, I had the pleasure of driving this beast. Article here.

 

[Meng_Tze]

That was a good story. I still want to take it for a spin..

 

[Scubastud16]

Awesome story! I always wondered about the picture on your site, now I know!

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

that's an amazing piece of equipment, I sure hope something like that becomes even semi available to the public so that more systems can be mapped and the robots ability to guide itself makes finding other cenotes or cave openings a huge possibility. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

The link to Stone's address to TED appears in my sig. He discusses his larger objectives, and shows some additional footage of the robot under development.

It is due to be tested in 2008 in the Antarctic, if I recall correctly, and I'm sure that some additional news may be released after the tests have been conducted.

I admire his vision and will look forward to hearing more regarding NASA's funding of his endeavors.