01 / PLATFORM
A compact, pressure-aware tracked crawler carries its own sensing, sampling, and recovery systems while a surface buoy preserves the geographic record.
The preliminary envelope is approximately 36 × 12 × 12 inches. Twin sealed low-speed tracks provide differential steering and traction on the bottom; a rounded roll cage protects the pressure-rated central hull. O-rings, leak sensors, serviceable covers, and positive retrieval points are part of the safety case.
The concept does not assume swimming thrusters. When the robot is allowed to drift, the river carries it; when it must hold or steer, tracks contact the bed. Inflation is reserved for jam recovery, self-righting attempts, or a controlled downstream transfer.
The pressure hull, compute pod, sensor mast, detector coil, sampler, and buoy are separate test targets. This makes a failed camera or clogged suction path diagnosable instead of turning the whole robot into a sealed black box.
The central electronics cylinder should be treated as a pressure vessel with a defined depth rating, not merely a waterproof box. Radial O-rings, captive fasteners, cable penetrators, strain relief, and a sacrificial leak-detection channel create a testable boundary. Every opened service joint gets a recorded seal inspection and pressure test before the next mission.
Low-speed sealed tracks are sized for bottom contact, not high-speed swimming. Differential commands should be limited by motor current, slip estimation, and tether angle. A surface buoy and tether carry GNSS and recovery load; the crawler logs the offset between the buoy and the underwater body so a map point is never mistaken for centimeter-accurate GPS.
