Predicting terrain traversability from thermal diffusivity

Abstract

This paper presents a method to predict soil traversability by estimating the thermal diffusivity of terrain using a moving, continuous-wave laser. This method differentiates between different densities of the samematerial, which visionbased methods alone cannot achieve. The bulk density of a granular material has a significant effect on both its mechanical behavior and its thermal properties. This approach fits the thermal response as effected by a laser to an analytical model that is dependent on thermal diffusivity. Experimental soil strength measurements validate that thermal diffusivity is a predictor of traversability for a given material.