Large-Scale Autonomous Gas Monitoring for Volcanic Environments: A Legged Robot on Mount Etna

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quadruped robot equipped with a gas sensor for autonomous, reliable volcanic gas measurements in challenging terrains, demonstrating high success rates on Mount Etna.

Contribution

The study presents a novel legged robotic system with integrated autonomy for in situ volcanic gas analysis, overcoming mobility limitations of wheeled systems in rough terrain.

Findings

Achieved 93-100% autonomy in gas detection missions

Successfully detected sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide at fumaroles

Provided insights on adaptive sensing and planning strategies

Abstract

Volcanic gas emissions are key precursors of eruptive activity. Yet, obtaining accurate near-surface measurements remains hazardous and logistically challenging, motivating the need for autonomous solutions. Limited mobility in rough volcanic terrain has prevented wheeled systems from performing reliable in situ gas measurements, reducing their usefulness as sensing platforms. We present a legged robotic system for autonomous volcanic gas analysis, utilizing the quadruped ANYmal, equipped with a quadrupole mass spectrometer system. Our modular autonomy stack integrates a mission planning interface, global planner, localization framework, and terrain-aware local navigation. We evaluated the system on Mount Etna across three autonomous missions in varied terrain, achieving successful gas-source detections with autonomy rates of 93-100%. In addition, we conducted a teleoperated mission in which the robot measured natural fumaroles, detecting sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. We discuss lessons learned from the gas-analysis and autonomy perspectives, emphasizing the need for adaptive sensing strategies, tighter integration of global and local planning, and improved hardware design.