Training and Repairing

 

After our trip to the Cook Islands, only one of our four ROVs were functioning, and nearly half of the team graduated, leaving only a few that are able to repair the units. In addition to the necessary ROV repairs, Paul’s fixed wing mapping UAV (the Snowy Plover) is in the need of a few repairs and upgrades as well.

The team now has three direct faculty members: Dr. Sean Anderson, Dr. David Claveau and Dr. Kiki Patsch along with team manager Paul Spaur. The returning students are: Tim Holcombe, Rebecca Smith, and Chase Tillman, and new team members: Nicole Gonzales, Karen Ramirez, and Tara Fay. There has been plenty of work to keep the team busy with setting up the new lab, and training the new comers the wide breadth of skills used in the laboratory.

In addition for learning new building and repairing skills, the new team members are learning about the basics regarding professional and responsible use of aerial and submarine remotely piloted systems. There are many rules, regulations and guidelines to follow when operating these tools, and our team strives to perform research using the utmost of safety.

 

All of the new team members have had the chance to start up and operate both our OpenROV, and Blade 180QX quadcopter units. Once our units are repaired, we will focus on tailoring them to meet specific research goals, and focus on pilot training.