Press Releases
Posted on Friday, May 01, 2009 - General News
Experts Gather for May 16 Celebration at Mount St. Helens
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
4/24/2009
CONTACT:
- WenZhan Song, School of Engineering and Computer Science, 360-546-9144, song@vancouver.wsu.edu
- Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9602, news@vancouver.wsu.edu
Vancouver, Wash. - Active deployment of a field-ready node will be available for demonstration and field testing on site, Saturday, May 16 at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center. This event covers the research performed by WenZhan Song Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Washington State University Vancouver in collaboration with United States Geological Survey. The machine can record second-by-second data on the currently slumbering volcano and it can also analyze information and decide what to send to scientists first from areas previously too dangerous to install equipment.
The machines are called spiders because their stabilizing legs are sturdier and record more information than previous machines. But the biggest improvement are the monitors computer-programmed "brains" that can decide what some data means and which information is most important, said Rick LaHusen, an instrumentation engineer with the U.S. Geological Survey.
The smart spiders were developed by the USGS, WSU Vancouver and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Three graduate and two undergraduate students at WSU Vancouver designed the computer program that gives the spider its brains, USGS designed the structures and sensors and NASA worked on connecting the machine to overhead satellites to gather information and direct specific monitoring.
Work on the new spiders began two and a half years ago and is expected to take three years total. A trial run of five machines was conducted last fall and a full-fledged test of 16 machines working in tandem will begin in June.
Previous spider monitors could only record a single type of information, meaning several had to be deployed to gather the full picture of the mountain's activities. Each monitor also had to be installed separately, increasing labor and equipment.
"It's pretty cool," said LaHusen. "We took the scientific need and built something from scratch."
The smart spider does it all from a single site. It simultaneously records volcanic earthquakes, deformation of the ground and lightning from volcanic ash clouds and air pressure waves from explosions and then uses a stronger version of Bluetooth technology to transmit the information back to scientists. The smart spiders also are made out of heavier metal and have a lower center of gravity, making them more resistant to being crushed by snow or ice or being blown over by heavy winds.
While fancy, the smart spiders won't replace more sensitive monitoring equipment. Instead, they'll augment it, especially during activity or eruptions when it's dangerous to work in the crater but when up-to-the-minute information is more critical than ever.
WSU Vancouver is located at 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205, or via C-Tran bus service. We offer 16 bachelor's degrees, nine master's degrees, one doctorate degree and more than 36 fields of study. Visit us on the Web at http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu.
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