Underwater Robot Protects Marine Environment
Monterey Bay Cleanup Aided by Phantom HD2 Robot
Nov 2, 2009
Not as attractive or personable as a Star Wars character yet very efficient, this new breed of robot is helping to recover harmful debris sitting on the ocean floor. Piles of sunken fishing gear and netting that remain difficult to retrieve from a boat have recently been plucked out of the water by the mechanical arms of the Phantom HD2-2. This new method of marine cleanup proves that there may be some hope for halting the massive trash buildup polluting our oceans.
Lost fishing nets and other debris create serious harm to fish and whales that entangle themselves in the underwater trash. Known as “ghost fishing”, synthetic fishing gear endanger much of the sea life from crustaceans to larger mammals. The netting becomes a breeding ground and habitat for foreign organisms that alter the delicate marine ecosystem. With the help of the Phantom HD2 robot, some of these discarded items have been retrieved and sent to the proper disposal units.
Phantom HD2 Technology
The Phantom HD2 operates by remote control using state of the art GPS and video technology. The robot skims over rocks and sand until the targets are located by the crew. Attached by a cable to a boat, signals are sent from the immersed robot back to the search team for further commands. When trash and debris on the ocean floor are located, the robot dives to the required depth and retrieves the articles by extending a mechanical arm controlled by the crew. If the items are too heavy, the robot attaches a hook and runs a cable back to the boat.
Built by the Deep Ocean engineering firm in San Leandro, California, the high tech robot encompasses a number of features that include inspection and survey capabilities in the marine environment. The www.deepocean.com/hd2-2 technical specifications and other application information describe the Phantom HD2 and other ROV (remotely operated vehicle) ocean system products.
California’s Marine Reserves in a Restoration Mode
According to Kurtis Alexander in the October 30, 2009 San Luis Obispo Tribune article “Underwater Robot Cleans Trash from the Floor of Monterey Bay”, the robot successfully completed the first voyage in October by removing fishing nets and crab traps. More than 100 feet of tangled netting was recovered. The state of California made this effort possible by creating a network of marine reserves along the Central Coast. This decision that took place in 2007 will allow efforts to proceed that should help restore the protected areas.
A coordinated effort by teams from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and other groups such as UC Davis’ California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery are trying their best to thwart the massive trash buildup. Crews aboard fishing vessels and scuba divers continue to retrieve some of the debris from the ocean. But for the lower depths where divers cannot reach, the Phantom HD2 robot will become a valuable addition to the marine environmentalist’s cleanup program.
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