Marine Technology Reporter Blogs - image: whoi

Scientists and engineers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have partnered with two companies to market undersea technology developed at WHOI. The technology includes the Imaging FlowCytobot, an automated underwater microscope, and BlueComm, an underwater communications system that uses light to provide wireless transmission of data, including video imagery, in real or near-real time. Since 2003 a submersible flow cytometer developed at WHOI, FlowCytobot, has been measuring and counting the smallest phytoplankton (cells <10 micro-meters) at the Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO), recording optical signals from individual cells as they pass through a focused laser beam.

Engineers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have been working with Nereus a unique vehicle that can reach depths over 6 miles deep. The $8 million dollar vehicle was developed to withstand crushing pressure; about 1,000 times the pressure exerted at sea level. Nereus is a combination of two different types of vehicles. It can operate as a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) or as an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle or (AUV). While operating as an AUV the vehicle can cover large areas of the seafloor while mapping the areas with cameras, sensors, and sonar. It can also be converted to an ROV onboard the ship so that pilots can hover over an area to get images or collect samples. Because of the vehicles smaller size it can be launched from smaller vessels that are less costly to operate.