Bozeman, Mont. - The United States Air Force has signed an agreement with noted archeologist, Ken Karsmizki, to locate and preserve an historic artifact from the Lewis and Clark expedition. This summer the Air Force will deploy an electromagnetic sensor system, mounted on a robotic vehicle, to find Lewis' iron boat.

The MSU TechLink Center, a technology transfer organization located in Bozeman, and the International and Technology Transfer Programs Office at Tyndall Air Force Base, facilitated the partnership between Karsmizki of the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Wasco County Museum and the Air Force unit that will help him search for the long-buried artifact.

Prior to the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-1806, Captain Meriwether Lewis commissioned an iron boat frame of his own design from the Harper's Ferry arsenal in Virginia. In the summer of 1805, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery portaged around the Great Falls of the Missouri River, assembled the frame, and tested the boat for its seaworthiness. It leaked. After many days of frustration they gave up, buried the boat frame, and pressed on to the Pacific Ocean. Ken Karsmizki is leading a team of researchers and archeologists to locate Lewis' iron boat, and the Air Force has agreed to assist by employing unique capabilities that will greatly enhance the search.

The Air Force has developed an innovative robotic system, called the Advanced Mobility Research and Development System, or AMRADS. The robot is an all-stainless-steel-tracked vehicle equipped with an electromagnetic sensor called the EM 61 for locating buried objects. This system was developed under the "Robotics for Agile Combat Support" program at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.

The precision GPS navigation allows the system to locate objects within about 4 inches. Data is collected with a computer that interfaces with the robot. Scientists can piece together the subsurface imagery to plot the anomalies and locate the buried objects with great precision. The robot outperforms manually driven systems and can achieve near 100 percent coverage of the area.

"The Air Force is using a robot to find a boat that the Army buried 200 years ago," said David Weston of MSU TechLink. "I think Captain Lewis would be excited." TechLink learned of Karsmizki's unique needs and assisted in the development of this project by identifying an Air Force program with the innovative capabilities to perform the underground search.

This project builds on efforts funded by the National Geographic Society. The original work included identifying Lewis and Clark's upper portage site using historical maps, archival data, and remote sensing imagery. Magnetic survey equipment was used to further refine the target area.

The Air Force will deploy the AMRADS system, equipped with the EM-61, to Great Falls, Montana later this summer.

TechLink is located at Montana State University in Bozeman and funded by the Department of Defense and NASA to link companies in Montana and the surrounding region with federal laboratories for joint research and technology transfer. Its overriding purpose is to contribute to the success of both technology-based companies and key resource-based industries in the state and region.

CONTACTS:
Chandra Morris
MSU TechLink
406-994-7702
cmorris@montana.edu

Ken Karsmizki
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center
541-296-8600
kkars@gorgediscovery.org

Paul Carpenter
Tyndall AFB
850-283-6267
paul.carpenter@tyndall.af.mil

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