Build Your Own DIY Ocean Research Vessel
How to turn an inflatable boat into a floating citizen science laboratory.
Ocean exploration is expensive business. That’s why hardly anyone does it. Despite the well-known fact that over 71% of our planet is covered by ocean and we’ve explored less than 5% of it, a relatively small amount of both federal and private funding goes towards the tools and vessels necessary to explore the depths. In fact, a large part of the federal ocean exploration budget (between $20–30 million annually) goes towards supporting only two ships: The Okeanos Explorer and the E.V. Nautilus.
Obviously, having only two ships leaves a lot to be desired. To be fair, though, both of them accomplish an incredible amount given the enormity of the task. Whether you measure it by days at sea, scientific discoveries enabled, or views on social media, the productivity and effectiveness of these crews is not in question. That tax payer money is going a long way — literally.
Technology has made it go a lot further, too. Mostly with robots and the internet, and mostly thanks to Dr. Robert Ballard. Dr. Ballard, most famous for discovering the Titanic, began his career “the hard way” on research vessels and diving in manned submersibles, notably Alvin, but eventually realized a paradigm shift was needed in order to eliminate inefficiencies. He pioneered the use of telepresence as a technique for exploring the depths of the ocean. Instead of the lone submarine missions, limited to just a few lucky researchers, they used Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and connected them to the internet to turn the research vessels into a real-time, connected observation platforms. The telepresence model has allowed scientists from all over the world to collaborate and contribute, not to mention created a boon for educators in classrooms across the world. More than his laundry list of scientific and archaeologic discoveries (which are incredible, almost unparalleled), Dr. Ballard should be remember for how he changed the process of ocean exploration through telepresence.
Eric Stackpole, the creator of OpenROV, was drinking the same Kool-Aid. From our very first meeting in 2010, he told me — without hesitation or uncertainty — his life’s purpose was to promote telerobotics as a tool for exploration. In the past five years, I’ve watched him turn this:
An early underwater robot prototype that barely worked. Into this:
The new OpenROV Trident, an extraordinary leap forward for low-cost underwater drones. Eric’s vision, which I’ve supported since I met him, has been to make sure everyone has access to this technology. We’re not far from that goal.
Over the past week, I’ve watched Eric take another step in the direction of democratized exploration as he’s been rigging up his inflatable boat for next week’s expedition to the wreck of the SS Tahoe. I first noticed the boat set up in the kitchen of OpenROV HQ. Over the weekend, Eric tested the setup in Lake Tahoe.
You can read the full write-up on the system HERE.
And you can follow along with the SS Tahoe Wreck Expedition HERE.
Best to view Eric’s setup as a prototype to what’s to come. All in, the whole setup — an internet-connected ocean exploration platform — costs less than $10,000 (less the acoustic positioning transducer). Of course, the OpenROVs can only go to 100m of depth, but there’s a North America-sized area of ocean at that depth or shallower. Imagine thousands of these micro-exploration vessels operated by citizen scientists: patrolling marine protected areas, monitoring fisheries, or searching for submerged cultural heritage.
I like that future.
