ROVing Otter

A web-controlled UNDERWATER ROBOT for ocean education and research

IMAGE GALLERY :

The first image below is a screenshot captured during a ROVing Otter dive using Local Control mode at Fisherman's Wharf (#2) in Monterey, California on the afternoon of 24 February 2007. Kyle (age 7 at the time) was piloting; Steve (age classified) was taking screen shots. Some friendly passers-by were helping with tether management. This screenshot shows what the ROV pilot sees during a typical dive in good conditions. In this case, the ROV camera is pointed at a sea star (Pisaster gigantea) atop some sunken timbers, which are covered with a growth of strawberry anemones (Corynactis spp.), hydroids, and other invertebrate life. The ROVing Otter's right headlight is on, illuminating the right end of the timbers. The green lasers are turned off (but see laser image later in this series). Note the yellow, mouse-clickable, control panel to the right of the camera image and the table of dive data located right below the control panel. The navigation ("NAV") data shows this image was taken 72 minutes into the dive at a depth of 23 feet while the ROV was pointed at a heading of 88 degrees. The vehicle status ("STAT") data shows there was no water leaking into the ROV at that time (a good thing), that the battery voltage was 11.4 V (getting low, but still okay), and that the circuit board temperature inside the ROV was 22 degrees Centigrade. (The water was much colder!)

The next four pictures are images captured from the ROVing Otter camera during the same Monterey Wharf dive on 24 Feb 2007. These are "real" images in that they have not been "Photoshopped" or otherwise modified other than being cropped out of the screenshots.

The first one is a view of the wharf pilings taken while the ROV was parked on the sandy bottom at a depth of 21 feet. The top of the ROV's compass sphere is barely visible in the center of the lower edge of the photo. The camera can be tilted down by remote control to view the compass heading, if necessary, though it is also equipped with an electronic compass.

The second one shows a purple sea star (Pisaster ocraceous) and an anemone (possibly Anthopleura elegantissima) clinging to a wall coated with smaller algae and invertebrates. We also found 2 large sun stars (Picnopodia spp.) on this dive.

The third image shows ROVing Otter's lasers and its camera tilt feature. Dual green lasers project parallel beams through the water to measure nearby objects in the field of view. In this case, they hit nothing and converge in the distance, but when they hit nearby objects, they project two dots a known distance apart, effectively projecting a size scale onto the object. For this dive, ROVing Otter was equipped with a fluid-filled compass normally used for automobile dashboards. When the camera is pointed straight aheady, the compass is almost completely hidden, but the camera can be tilted down by remote control to read the compass, as was done in this image. The orangish-brown frilly things growing on the bottom are bryozoan colonies.

The fourth image from the Wharf dive shows a carpet of strawberry anemones, also known as club-tipped anemones (Corynactis spp.) with some bryozoan colonies among them. At bottom center, the upper portion of the clear plastic sphere that houses a compass is barely visible.

Below: A curious harbor seal buzzed ROVing Otter on the morning of May 1, 2006, while Mr. Tod Spedding's 6th grade class was at the helm. Mr. Spedding had the ROVing Otter control console projected on a screen in front of the room for the entire class to see. Fortunately -- he also had a video camera running to record the projected image. This enabled him to capture this brief visit. Click here to see a short Quick Time movie clip of this fun event (Please be patient during the download; it's over 2 Megabytes in size).

The rest of the images were captured from the video stream of ROVing Otter's camera during ocean dives in or near Whaler's Cove in Central California. (For images of the ROV itself and some other underwater images, please see the Progress Logs.)

Above: Tube anemones and sea stars inhabit a patch of crushed seashells at a depth of 85 feet near the mouth of Whaler's Cove. The "tree trunks" of a Giant Kelp (Macrocystis) kelp forest visible in the distance, rising from the rocks toward the surface. Rock outcroppings are covered with cup corals, sponges, and other invertebrate life.

Above: Another view of a kelp forest -- this time in shallow water, where there's enough light to support dense growth of slender, graceful, green surfgrass.

Above: Several blue rockfish hanging out around some kelp at a depth of about 40 feet.

Above: The strange white "string" may be a collonial hydrozoan animal known as a siphonophore. Here it is visible drifting a few feet below the surface.