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Tag: ROV

First live video of a colossal squid highlights one of the most exciting knowledge gaps in deep ocean exploration

Posted on April 28, 2025April 28, 2025 By Andrew Thaler
First live video of a colossal squid highlights one of the most exciting knowledge gaps in deep ocean exploration
Exploration, Featured

Earlier this month, the good folks at the Schmidt Institute for Oceanography, unveiled the first video footage of a colossal squid. Colossal squid were first described 100 years ago, but have never been seen live. What little information we have comes from specimens that washed up on beaches or from hard parts found in the … Read More “First live video of a colossal squid highlights one of the most exciting knowledge gaps in deep ocean exploration” »

Probing the submerged caves of Bermuda with Trident

Posted on January 28, 2020January 28, 2020 By Andrew Thaler
Science
Dr. Blanco-Bercial pilots the Trident ROV in one of Bermuda’s submerged caves.

Conservation research in submarine caves is among the clearest and most compelling use-cases for a small observation-class ROV like Trident, which is why, last week, we delivered the very first ROV for Good Sofar Ocean Trident to Dr. Leocadio Blanco-Bercial at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences to study the hidden biodiversity in Bermuda’s Anchialine Caves.

Dr. Blanco-Bercial is a marine biologist who studies the diversity and evolution in invertebrates, especially those in marine cave ecosystems. Bermuda is home to a network of anchialine caves (caves connected to the sea through underwater passageways) which are home to a diverse array of rare and ancient arthropod lineages, many of which are unique to Bermuda. These species are under threat from land development and other human activities.

“From the science standpoint,” says Dr.  Blanco-Bercial, “the Trident will give us independence from specialized divers availability, and will simplify the logistics associated with the sampling process – the Trident is easy to carry even by a single person – and sampling attachments and other gear is easily transportable by another colleague.”

Read More “Probing the submerged caves of Bermuda with Trident” »

Mining historic shipwrecks for lead and other old things from the bottom of the sea. Also, Robots! Weekly Salvage: November 4, 2019

Posted on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Transcript available below.

Read More “Mining historic shipwrecks for lead and other old things from the bottom of the sea. Also, Robots! Weekly Salvage: November 4, 2019” »

Space whales. Space. Whales. SPAAAAACE WHAAAAALES! Weekly Salvage: October 21, 2019

Posted on October 21, 2019October 20, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Transcript below.

Read More “Space whales. Space. Whales. SPAAAAACE WHAAAAALES! Weekly Salvage: October 21, 2019” »

Big storms, lost ships, fake shrimp, and more! Weekly Salvage: September 9, 2019

Posted on September 9, 2019September 9, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Transcript provided below.

Read More “Big storms, lost ships, fake shrimp, and more! Weekly Salvage: September 9, 2019” »

Best Practices for Mitigating Negative Interactions Between Marine Mammals and MicroROVs

Posted on August 21, 2019August 21, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Science

Today, we published our guidelines on the responsible operation of small recreational ROVs around marine mammals.

You can read the full paper here: Thaler and friends (2019) Bot Meets Whale: Best Practices for Mitigating Negative Interactions Between Marine Mammals and MicroROVs. DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00506.

Reprinted below are the explicit guidelines proposed in the paper.

1. Education. Central to any mitigation strategy involving diverse stakeholders, ranging from professional to recreational, is user education. The following are critical to establishing a responsible user community: Ensuring all potential microROV users 1) not only understand the laws and regulations for wildlife viewing that apply to the jurisdiction in which they are operating, but understand why those regulations are in place; and, most importantly, 2) have internalized a stewardship ethic that motivates them to respect the rationale behind those regulations even when operating in regions where those regulations are not enforced. This is most effective when it occurs at point-of-sale or registration of the microROV. Thus, while the additional four guidelines relate to the user, this first one relates to the manufacturer. To most effectively convey the potential harm that microROVs could pose to marine mammals, the manufacturers are best positioned to educate their user base by providing informational material with each microROV sale. 

Read More “Best Practices for Mitigating Negative Interactions Between Marine Mammals and MicroROVs” »

Protecting the Iron Snail, more then meets the eye, ROV-bot in disguise, saying farewell to a glacier, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 29, 2019.

Posted on July 29, 2019July 28, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • For US Citizens: Call your representatives and demand Impeachment Hearings. Now. It is, in point of fact, the absolute least you can do.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • I can’t speak to the practicality of this beyond a few very niche applications, but it is still awesome. Aquanaut, an autonomous submarine that transforms into a humanoid robot.
  • Scientists Just Discovered a 310-Mile Coral Reef Corridor in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • The Trek to Bid Farewell to an Icelandic Glacier: A plaque will soon mark the site of Okjökull, one of Iceland’s dearly departed.
The copper plaque will be installed on Ok in August 2019. COURTESY RICE UNIVERSITY.

Read More “Protecting the Iron Snail, more then meets the eye, ROV-bot in disguise, saying farewell to a glacier, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 29, 2019.” »

LarvaBots, turning the tide on captive dolphins, horror fish from the deep sea, ARA San Juan found, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 19, 2018.

Posted on November 19, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • Congratulations to Dr. Hal Holmes of Conservation X Labs for earning a Moore Foundation Inventor Fellowship for his DNA Barcode Project.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Reef RangerBot becomes ‘LarvalBot’ to spread coral babies.

LarvalBot gently squirts the coral larvae onto damaged reef areas. Credit: QUT Media
LarvalBot gently squirts the coral larvae onto damaged reef areas. Credit: QUT Media

  • Turn of the tide: Seeing dolphins differently by National Aquarium Director John Racanelli.

Read More “LarvaBots, turning the tide on captive dolphins, horror fish from the deep sea, ARA San Juan found, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 19, 2018.” »

Coral reefs lose their champion, which laptop is really the greenest, new sea slugs, and an octopuses garden in the sea. Monday Morning Salvage: November 5, 2018.

Posted on November 5, 2018November 4, 2018 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • Help the Victims of Typhoon Yutu.
  • Ruth Gates dedicated her life to saving the world’s reefs and training the next generation of reef scientists. The Fight for Corals Loses Its Great Champion.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Scientists Have Just Named 17 New Sea Slug Species, and They’re All Fabulous.

The newest members of the nudibranch family. (H. iba comes in 2 color morphs.) Photo: California Academy of Sciences
The newest members of the nudibranch family. (H. iba comes in 2 color morphs.)
Photo: California Academy of Sciences

  • Palau Becomes First Nation to Ban Sunscreens That Harm Corals.
  • The tiny sponge that could help preserve our deep oceans.

A close-up photo of the sponge that is being studied. NHM.
A close-up photo of the sponge that is being studied. NHM.

Read More “Coral reefs lose their champion, which laptop is really the greenest, new sea slugs, and an octopuses garden in the sea. Monday Morning Salvage: November 5, 2018.” »

I made a ridiculous Glowing Wall Mount for my OpenROV Trident!

Posted on October 26, 2018 By Andrew Thaler 1 Comment on I made a ridiculous Glowing Wall Mount for my OpenROV Trident!
Open Science

Because OpenROV Trident is a work of art and should be displayed as such when not on deployment. This was my first big design project using the Glowforge and integrating LED strips If you have a Trident, you can download the plans and bill of materials right here: OpenROV Trident Glowing Wall Mount. More importantly, if … Read More “I made a ridiculous Glowing Wall Mount for my OpenROV Trident!” »

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