Remote Underwater Exploration
The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has trialled a new monitoring program on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) using a BlueROV2 modified with a hyperspectral camera and semi-autonomous navigation. It is so exciting to hear about custom modifications being made to the BlueROV2!
Full article at: AIMS media release 25jul18
AIMS Technology Transformation leader Melanie Olsen with the Blue ROV2
Photo Credit: AIMS
China’s Qingdao Robotfish Marine Technology Co Ltd has developed a tiny, crown-of-thorns-starfish (COTS) -killing vehicle, called the Coral Guard. Not much information available but nice idea…
Full article available at: ChinaDaily 08jan2018
![Fan Ping, chief technology officer at Qingdao Robotfish Marine Technology Co Ltd, debugs the Coral Guard robot. [Photo/China Daily]](http://www.undersearov.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ChinaDaily-jan18.png)
We participated in the Batemans Bay High School Hack-a-thon on the 6th of July, getting a group of 5 students in years 5-9 to build a SeaMATE Angelfish ROV kit. It was awesome! The simple kit components were put together to build an operational vehicle in a day. Students gained an understanding of buoyancy, propulsion, motors, wiring and switches. But most importantly they were inspired by their success, which will encourage them to go further and learn more.
The US state of Hawaii has banned certain types of sunscreens in order to protect coral reefs, effective January 2021. Chemicals targeted are octinoxate (often labelled octyl methoxycinnamate) and oxybenzone, which are believed to contribute to coral bleaching and death of baby corals, respectively.
Full articles available at: CNN, Hawaii Bans Suncreens 03jul18
or NPR, Common Sunscreens May Harm Coral 02jul18
Amazing Anna Du, a 12-yr old from Andover Massachusetts, built a Smart Infrared-based ROV to collect micro plastics from the ocean. She is one of this year’s finalists in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientists Challenge and we think her invention is INCREDIBLE. You can see Anna’s 2018 Young Scientist Challenge Entry here: Young Scientist Lab