OpenRov is being sold for $775 through its launch
This cheap, crowdsourced submersible has recently begun taking maiden voyages in the world’s oceans, opening up the world of marine exploration to anyone with curiosity about what’s happening underwater.
Your personal remote operated submersible is ready. OpenROV, a tiny battery-powered sub, is a bringing ocean exploration into your home.
Powered by a small Linux computer, C-batteries, crowdsourced technology, and two guys with a thing for marine exploration, OpenROV promises to transform small remote vehicles–once the provenance of well-funded government agencies–into affordable crowdsourced machines that anyone can send on missions into the world’s oceans, lakes, and bays.
Designed by Eric Stackpole, and developed with David Lang, OpenROV is an open-source research and development project for the public to explore the seas (or caverns, lakes, and almost anywhere underwater where the ROV’s tether will reach). Applications range from scouting dive locations to search and rescue, as well as education.
“Our main focus right now is getting as many OpenROVs out in the wild as possible,” says Lang. “We think there’s a lot of opportunity to accelerate development if everyone is working on the same problem set.
OpenRov is being sold for $775 through its launch. Its blue body is laser cut from acrylic panels housing three thrusters (two horizontal, one vertical), an HD webcam, LED lights, and eight onboard batteries. The tiny package can dive about 300 feet (tested to 65 feet so far) and hits a top speed of about 2.2 mph during its 1.5 hour running time.
via FastCoExist