Low-cost, portable, observation-class, underwater remotely operated vehicles (microROVs), which can be transported and operated by a single user, are increasingly common tools in scientific, industrial, commercial, and recreational ocean application. Over the last decade, the use of microROVs has boomed; four microROV manufacturers were poised to ship over 10,000 "underwater drones" in 2018 (Thaler, personal observation). This nascent industry provides an affordable underwater observation solution for marine science, conservation, education, and citizen science programs, as well as community groups and other stakeholders wishing to conduct independent marine environmental surveys and provides users with an opportunity to view marine wildlife with minimal disturbance (Figure 1).
DOI:
Issue Areas
- Energy and Environment
Publishers
- Frontiers in Marine Science
Funder
- The Pew Charitable Trusts
- Patreon
- OpenROV
- Animal Welfare Institute
- Blackbeard Biologic
Doc Type
- Article
Language
- English
Geography
- North America / United States (Western) / California
Copyright
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License