If you’ve been following me on twitter, checking out some of my YouTube videos, or reading this blog, you probably have a good sense about how enthusiastic I am about ROV’s and how excited I am about the current wave of cheap, easy to build and maintain, functional ROV’s for outreach, teaching, and recreational exploration. Inexpensive, high quality ROV’s can provide us with previously unheard of access to the ocean.
So I’m really excited that OpenROV, an open source project to develop a robotic submarine that anyone can build and use, has launched their kickstarter page to develop and distribute the OpenROV kit. From the project page:
OpenROV is an open source robotic submarine designed to make underwater exploration possible for everyone. It’s also an online community of professional and amateur ROV (remotely operated vehicle) enthusiasts on OpenROV.com.
The Goal: to inspire and enable anyone to become a DIY Ocean Explorer.
We believe in the power of open source communities to create amazing tools and experiences. This is an invitation to become a co-developer of the OpenROV project.
It certainly makes my little PVC punt-around look positively primeval in comparison.
I completely agree with Dr. Sylvia Earle, who said about the OpenROV, “I wish they were in every hardware store in the world.”
Check out the OpenROV project website: OpenROV – Open-source underwater robots for exploration and education
Visit the OpenROV Kickstarter page: OpenROV – The Open Source Underwater Robot