SCINI: Submersible Capable of under Ice Navigation and Imaging

A group at the Moss Landing Marine Labs in Moss Landing, CA (USA) is working on a new submersible ROV (remotely operated vehicle) which will be first deployed in Antarctica in the fall of 2007; it is a three year development program ending in 2009.

They are planning on using an Elphel 353 video camera for the main navigation camera, and possibly adding on a second high resolution still camera sensor board for image collection. The ability to run video over ethernet with the rest of the communications means the 1000 foot (330 meter) tether does not need dedicated conductors for video transmission, which saves a lot of hassle! The configurability of exposure, color balance, frame rate, etc, through open standards and software means less reverse engineering and easier integration with existing robotics control software.

Prototype Waterproof Camera Bottle

Here's a first fisheye image from McMurdo station in Antarctica: http://mit.edu/bnewbold/scini/from_crary310.jpg Not well focused, window reflections, bad exposure, blah blah. The black shapes around the edge are LED casings.

For more information about the project including a blog see http://scini.mlml.calstate.edu/

User:Bnewbold is the main contact on this wiki for the SCINI Project; see his talk page for Elphel-specific questions and software related to the SCINI Project.