dive. Figure 17 shows Nereus in one
of its last dive operations.
Cameron compares the loss of
Nereus to that of losing a friend. He
wrote, “Nereus was an amazing,
groundbreaking robot and the only
currently active vehicle in the world
that could reach the extreme depths
of the ocean trenches,” in a
statement to WHOI after hearing
about Nereus’s final dive. Go to
www.whoi.edu for more information
on Nereus.
Final Thoughts
The sea has always amazed me.
In fact, oceanography and ocean
technology was my major in college.
Inventive people have come up with
some amazing vehicles to bring land-bound humans into the deep oceans.
The deep sea mining company,
Nautilus Minerals, Inc., is intent on
mining minerals near deep sea
thermal vents as seen in Figure 18.
An undersea ‘bulk cutter’ mining
robot is shown in Figure 19.
These are just a few of the many
ways we are exploring the deep
oceans and tapping the vast resources
of the sea. For something on a much
smaller scale (and to get your feet
wet), look at the May 2014 issue for
Dave Prochnow’s article on a less-
than-$100 pool bot for a good start
on a simple ROV. Inexpensive PVC
pipe has been the buoyant structure
for many home-built
underwater robots.
If you are interested in
devising a new undersea
robot to accomplish a unique
task, go to the Internet to
study, talk with experts, and
put your ideas to metal (or
PVC) so you too can explore
this vast unknown. SV
Figure 17. Nereus
raised onto the
research vessel
Figure 18. Nautilus mineral’s undersea
mining operation.
SERVO 08.2014 81
Figure 19. Bulk cutter mining robot for Solwara 1 project.
