Remotely operated vehicle for environmental research

A remotely controlled vehicle comprising:

• a vehicle propulsion system mounted on a first platform, the vehicle propulsion system comprising;
• a receiver for receiving speed and direction commands;
• speed control circuitry coupled to the receiver for converting the speed and direction commands to motor drive signals;
• a plurality of drive wheel assemblies driven by the motor drive signals;
• and
• a first power source coupled to the receiver and speed control circuitry;
• a sensor and data collection system mounted on a second platform, the sensor and data collection system comprising:
• one or more environmental sensors;
• a memory for storing data from the one or more environmental sensors;
• a microcontroller for controlling the one or more environmental sensors and the memory;
• and
• a second power source coupled to the one or more environmental sensors, the memory and the microcontroller;
• and
• a plurality of connecting members,
• wherein the first platform and the second platform each have a plurality of connecting bores in which the plurality of connecting members are inserted to fasten the first platform and the second platform, wherein the first platform has a first set of drive wheel assemblies of the plurality of drive wheel assemblies mounted thereon and the second platform has a second set of drive wheel assemblies of the plurality of drive wheel assemblies mounted thereon.