March 4, 2019 โ It weighs around 100 pounds, is about the size of a mini-fridge, and comes with single robotic arm and an 800-foot cord.
The New England Aquariumโs new, remote-controlled underwater vehicle โ an unexpected gift from software giant Autodesk Inc. in 2017 โ has a range of abilities, from locating lost fishing gear in the Boston Harbor to recording video of sea life that would be off-limits to human divers. Importantly, the device helps fulfill the 50-year-old institutionโs often-overlooked core research mission.
โThereโs this supposition that aquariums donโt do scientific research,โ said John Mandelman, vice president and chief scientist of the Aquariumโs Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. โI think the (vehicle) is a surprise to people because itโs an example of using high-technology to do scientific research at an aquarium that people donโt realize has a scientific research angle.โ
It was a couple years ago now that Autodeskโs Boston office called out of the blue to say it wanted to donate a remote-controlled vehicle, or ROV, made by San Diego-based Teledyne SeaBotix, said Mandelman. The company had bought it three years earlier for a one-time project, but it had sat on a shelf unused ever since.