Background Information

Fig. 2: Barnegat Bay frozen over

Fig. 1: Sandy Hook Bay Frozen over

    
It is winter time in Sandy Hook, New Jersey and the Sandy Hook Bay has started to freeze over.  You need to observe the benthic creatures but you cannot go into the water and for the same reason you do not want to be in an open boat on the water where there is a risk of falling in.  You need a way to film the benthic creatures while remaining dry and warm; at the same time you do not want to disturb the marine life too much. 

     

Fig. 3: Ice on a bay

      My team's ROV is designed to help out in this situation.  Scientists want to preserve marine habitats, but they still need to be able to conduct research.  With an ROV there would be far less disruption than if a person were to collect information themselves.  Scientist are not the only people who would benefit from our ROV.  Scuba divers who film underwater for work or pleasure are limited to warm weather seasons in places like New Jersey where the weather can be cold and unpleasant from fall to early spring.



Fig. 4: Scuba diver filming marine life

         My team's ROV is almost essential for any biologist observing marine life.  We would provide a way for them to continue observing marine life and the marine life's behaviors even when they can't be in the water themselves.  The ROV is a remotely-operated vehicle that with be controlled from the shore.  The bottom will be made of Plexiglas and the camera and mechanism that controls the camera will be housed inside the vessel to keep it all dry.  The bottom will be clear so that the camera can easily film through it.

Fig. 5: Remote controlled toy boat

      The ROV itself will have a clean look so that it is marketable.  My portion of the ROV will be inside the vessel, so I am less concerned with aesthetics and more concerned with the way it operates.  The attachment for the camera should be smooth and compact and have a way to keep the wires from getting tangled.  The structure holding and controlling the camera should fit seamlessly with the rest of the ROV so that it is cohesive.

Fig. 6: Clear canoe

Fig. 7: Tourists observe marine 
life on glass bottom tour boat.

     As discussed in my research there are multiple examples of underwater ROVs.  We attained our original idea of a glass bottom boat from the glass bottom tour boats that allow tourists to look down onto the marine life while remaining safe and dry on the boat.

Sources:

• Figure 1: http://www.windsurfresource.com/sandy_hook.htm
• Figure 2: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkqTOltULlPoRMJx8DElEc0tmLBPRifpoIBygTcaHu5y9O_MADBRBdxWgto2giv7wteyUSMwrHkLUw9_LTLdMAvGXSLQp7v-N-GyYctfdT0NpDQCpLLlGzY-WXaikBgvxglXLMEdrF5iU/s320/IMG_2622.JPG
• Figure 3: http://www.ventureout.org/image/bay.jpg
• Figure 4: http://picsdigger.com/image/379a7f46/
• Figure 5: http://images.hobbytron.com/XT-757059-lg.jpg
• Figure 6: http://www.opulentitems.com/assets/images/KayakMolokini1diff.jpg
• Figure 7: http://www.elitetoursfl.com/images/glass-bottom-boat-picture.jpg