Collector: A Vision-Based Semi-Autonomous Robot for Mangrove Forest Exploration and Research

Abstract

Sundarban, the largest mangrove forest in the world and one of the UNESCO's World Heritage site is considered to be in danger due to the effect of climate change which may lead to possible extinction of its wildlife such as Royal Bengal Tigers, due to the recent establishment of coal-fired power station near the forest and other man-made and natural hazards. To protect and save the forest, there is not enough data for researchers to understand the change of the micro-climate and how it's affecting its fauna and flora. Moreover, to understand how the coal-fired power plant is affecting this forest, the forest has to be constantly monitored. As of now, there is no constant patrolling robot specialized for mangrove forest or research program that is functioning in Sundarban, Bangladesh sector. To mitigate this problem, we propose a mangrove forest research robot that can traverse both semi-autonomously and manually to constantly monitor the forest. The robot collects weather data as well as PH level of soils and water, CO level, SO, air quality and water quality data and store in memory on the robot which can later be analyzed by the researchers accordingly. The paper also introduces a novel wheel design that can traverse in forest terrain. The robot is also able to make sense of its surroundings using computer vision. And finally, it is equipped with a LIDAR to measure forest density by 3D mapping. Overall, the paper proposes the design and implementation of a research robot that is specially designed for the mangrove forest environment.