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Exploring the ocean with Raspberry Pi–powered marine robots

raspberrypi.com

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Re: Exploring the ocean with Raspberry Pi–powered marine robots

#3

Post by contingencies »

ge96 wrote: post #2

I think it's so cool you could in theory buy a satellite module eg. $250 break out board from spark fun, plug it in and be talking to a robot in the middle of the ocean. I wondered about the legal aspect, can you do that? Just release something into the wild.

Yes you can. However, international waters are a physically challenging environment and getting there requires navigating national waters which have regulatory restrictions. Of course, enforcement is probably nonexistant if you're small, barely visible, and heading straight out to sea... so, solve the "invisible awesome robot that can survive in tough conditions" problem, stock the "multi-day batteries for energy continuity" load, buy the "expensive communications" solution, and then yeah - you too can play with the big boys in the bathtub. Or ... just stick to your actual bathtub.

Re: Exploring the ocean with Raspberry Pi–powered marine robots

#5

Post by UncleOxidant »

ge96 wrote: post #2

I think it's so cool you could in theory buy a satellite module eg. $250 break out board from spark fun, plug it in and be talking to a robot in the middle of the ocean. I wondered about the legal aspect, can you do that? Just release something into the wild.

Why not? I doubt there are any legal restrictions other than don't be a hazard to navigation. But it would probably be too small to be a hazard anyway, and likely too small to be noticed.

Re: Exploring the ocean with Raspberry Pi–powered marine robots

#6

Post by rngfnby »

contingencies wrote: post #3
ge96 wrote: post #2

I think it's so cool you could in theory buy a satellite module eg. $250 break out board from spark fun, plug it in and be talking to a robot in the middle of the ocean. I wondered about the legal aspect, can you do that? Just release something into the wild.

Yes you can. However, international waters are a physically challenging environment and getting there requires navigating national waters which have regulatory restrictions. Of course, enforcement is probably nonexistant if you're small, barely visible, and heading straight out to sea... so, solve the "invisible awesome robot that can survive in tough conditions" problem, stock the "multi-day batteries for energy con…

Coat the whole vessel in a couple mm of sylgard-184 and it'll last a century (or until it's beached).

Re: Exploring the ocean with Raspberry Pi–powered marine robots

#10

Post by Arcanum-XIII »

Blue Robotics (bluerobotics.com) is also using Pi, for their BlueRov and survey boat (BlueBoat) - they’re quite nice to use (and not toys… you can add sonar, dvl, usbl locator to go at depth - max 600m with the kit)

I’m also starting to build other water/ground vehicles for underground exploration - communication and localisation are challenging, without speaking about navigation on uncertain terrain. Pi are accessible and cheap, and the Pico’s are also very useful to interface with the motors, sensor and so on.

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