BMI works with ROVs at BAHS

 

Belfast Marine Institute students examine a remotely operated vehicle. 

Photo by Charles Lagerbom

                            Using a Kevlar tether, BMI students retrieve an ROV from the pool at Belfast Area High School. 

                                                                                                    Photo by Charles Lagerbom

BELFAST — Belfast Area High School students in the Marine Institute recently began working with their new ROV (remote operating vehicle).

The underwater explorer is part of the institute's grant-funded initiative called the Floating Classroom. Its mission is to get students in, on and under the waters of Penobscot Bay and the Gulf of Maine.

The FIFISH V6 Expert ROV has a 4K high-definition video camera, two mounted underwater lights, and is on a 200-meter (600-foot) Kevlar tether line. This newer model also has a retractable claw for picking things up.

The ROV is capable of doing underwater surveys and search and recovery operations, as well as cataloging the marine flora and fauna of the harbor and bay. What makes this so exciting is that students will be able to design and propose their own research ideas and uses for it. For more information about the BMI, go to bahsmarineinstitute.rsu71.org.