WomBot: an exploratory robot for monitoring wombat burrows

Abstract

Abstract In this study we evaluate the design and efficacy of Wombot, an exploratory robot used to study environmental conditions within wombat burrows. Our purpose-built robot traverses through the difficult terrain present in wombat burrows whilst facilitating placement and retrieval of environmental data loggers. Our preliminary results suggest that the environmental conditions present within the burrows would result in a long mite survival time which shows significant risk for spreading infestations throughout a wombat population. Article Highlights Wombats live in difficult to observe burrows and suffer from mange cased by Sarcoptes scabiei. A teleoperated robot was designed to traverse the difficult terrain within burrows whilst placing and retrieving environmental loggers. Cool and humid environmental conditions within burrows suggest a relatively long mite survival time of 16–18 days