A Mixed Terrestrial Aerial Robotic Platform for Volcanic and Industrial Surveillance

Abstract

This paper presents a short overview of a new mixed Terrestrial Aerial Robotic PLAtform for Volcanic and Industrial Surveillance (TARPLAVIS). The aim of the project was to integrate different technologies in order to build an innovative platform to help operators in the management of industrial and volcanic crises. A strong similarity exists between crises occurring in volcanic sites and in many types of industrial plants. The platform comprises a terrestrial rover Robovolc, a UAV, a climbing robot, a telecontrol system and all the supporting communication equipment. The system tries to exploit the quality of each subsystem to represent a useful tool in crises management. Several test campaigns were run to evaluate the performance of each module and to improve the interconnections between the subsystems.