ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Remember those long-legged, slow-moving animal-like machines from Star Wars? Their three-legged cousin is roaming Vilano Beach right now.
"I call it the 'rolling tripod,'" St. Augustine local Manfred Nelles said as he sat on the beach watching the machine.
Its real name is the CRAB. It stands for Coastal Research Amphibious Buggy.
Its top speed is 2 miles per hour as it moves along the beach or water on three long metal legs. There is a driver way up there at the top of the 30-35 foot tall contraption.
The Army Corps of Engineers and its hired contractor are using this CRAB while working to restore and expand Vilano Beach. The CRAB rolls out from the land and into the water. It maps the topography, or the hills and valleys of the ocean floor, close to the beach.
It creates an image that shows the slope of the beach to the ocean floor level.
The project manager told First Coast News the CRAB helps him and the crew know how much sand is needed to expand the beach and where to put it.
"It was new to me, absolutely," Beachgoer Nelles nodded.
Most locals have never seen anything like the CRAB here and for good reason. It’s rare.
First Coast News learned that there are fewer than 12 people who drive these CRABs in the United States. According to the man who operates the one currently in Vilano Beach, it is a bumpy ride, because of the ocean floor’s surface. And there are no shocks on the equipment. Also, he said he can sometimes work for nine hours, driving the CRAB. There are no bathrooms on that thing and no coffee is allowed.
Scientists elsewhere use the CRAB to research waves and sediment. It’s the force that’s with them, on other beach studies across the country.
The tires are filled with liquid, to keep the three-story-tall contraption from floating away.