Just released announcement from Minister David Littleproud, describing modified BlueROV2s in action to protect Australia from exotic marine pests.
ROV finds very rare squid in Great Australian Bight
Scientists at CSIRO and Museum Victoria were thrilled to find not just one but FIVE “super rare deep sea squid” in the Great Australian Bight. This large fin squid, Magnapinna, has extremely long, thin tentacles and what appear to be tightly coiled filaments. Scientists believe Magnapinna can quickly retract its filaments if needed. The only other cephalopod known to have retractable filaments is the vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis):
Here is a close-up of a 4 to 6m long Magnapinna spotted by MBARI off Hawaii:
More details at: Sciencex.com 12nov20 and Science Alert 11nov20
Underwater live-streaming to classrooms
BlueROV2 live into a webinar
This week, we have really enjoyed showing off the standard BlueROV2’s 4D0F movement live into webinars.
Australia’s Great Southern Reef
See if you can spot the camouflaged cuttlefish in one scene, or the hermit crab in another while you escape below the waves in a modified BlueROV2, ~8km offshore Batemans Bay NSW.