Two specialized robots capable of monitoring sand and dust levels related to desertification have been developed by a team of scientists in Northwest China, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Yang Zelin, a member of Ningxia University research team, said on Wednesday, March 9, that the robots can measure air pressure, humidity, sand vibration, wind speed, and wind erosion in the hostile conditions of the desert.
According to the report, one of the robots is six-legged and has a loading capacity of 8 kg, while the other one runs on wheels and has 80 kg of load capacity.
The two robots are equipped with solar panels and use microwaves to relay data over an area of 25 km.
Yang told Xinhua that the robots can run for one hour.
"The various sensors installed on the robots are only 50 cm from the ground, offering us the much needed in situ data we require," Yang was quoted as saying.
Since it was previously difficult to collect information on the ground, collecting desert data is currently conducted from aerial stations.
Ningxia University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences collaborated on the project to create the robots, the report said.
An article published by www.get-top-news.com on March 3 said that the robots will be used by Ningxia University for the national and international science and technology cooperation project on "desert dust monitoring and access to information technology collaborative research."
The articles said that the robots were developed for China's remote desert information collection and wireless transmission as part of the new equipment and technical means for future desert weather information of the mobile collection platform and to promote the desert resource utilization survey.
A dry and barren region in Northwest China, Ningxia borders Tengger Desert, the fourth largest desert in China, which extends to over 43,000 sq. km.