An ROV is a Remote Operated Vehicle – a type of robot, designed to go places no human diver could ever go. We will be using a Seabotix LBV 150S, capable of diving to 150m to survey coral reef walls, never before seen by any human.
The ROV is equipped with 360º scanning sonar (Tritech Micron). This system enabled detection and imaging of substratum structures beyond the range of visibility. Underwater positioning and tracking is done with a ultra-short baseline sonar system (TrackLink). This system is integrated with Australian Marine Ecology’s own software, ROVPOS, which links with a differential GPS and electronic compass and pitch and roll sensors to overlay the absolute position of the ROV, ship and survey waypoints onto a bathymetry chart in real time.
The ROV (left) and AUV (right)Another type of robot, the AUV, is an Automated Underwater Vehicle and is particularly useful for habitat mapping. Being ‘autonomous’, it can be programmed to survey while divers are in the water doing other jobs.
