Development of a tether-towing 2-wheeled robot for exploring fumaroles located on steep slopes

Abstract

Fumaroles investigation is an effective method for prediction of a volcanic eruption. However, some fumaroles are located in places where humans are not able to reach, such as steep slopes or depressions. In this research, we propose a tether-towing 2-wheeled robot to enable investigation of fumaroles located on steep slopes. To confirm the validity of the robot system, we conducted a field experiment in the real volcanic field in Izu-Oshima Island. According to the result, the proposed robot traversed a steep slope and returned to the basement. Also, we found some mechanical and operational problems for the robot system to improve. In this paper, we introduce our robot system, experiments, and lessons learned.