ROV Lobstermoose

Niku the cockapoo takes a walk in the snow. 
Photo by Erik Strand.

When I first started as faculty at WHOI, I had the opportunity to buy all the equipment necessary for my research. It was a once-in-a-career opportunity to acquire tools that I would use for years to come, so I dreamt big. I bought myself a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). It's a powerful tool but small in stature - small enough to carry around with one hand, in fact.

Meanwhile, one of my friends owns a cockapoo named Niku. This dog is simultaneously tiny, fuzzy, and ferocious - leaving one to wonder what species she actually is. It's a running joke between my friend and her boyfriend that Niku is a moose. A miniature moose. A cross between a lobster and a moose. Niku is a lobstermoose. 

So one day the ROV was sitting out on the living room floor of my house, and my friend walked in. "Hey, look!" she exclaimed. "It's a Niku-sized ROV!"

ROV Lobstermoose and all its accessories can fit in the trunk
of my car. That will come in handy, I'm sure!

Friends, allow me to introduce you to ROV Lobstermoose. The name is not only in honor of a truly magnificent fuzz beast, but it is also appropriate because some of my research is in the Gulf of Maine. You know - the sea of lobsters next to the land of moose.  

Covid prevented me from using ROV Lobstermoose for much more than a decoration the last two years, but this small, powerful vehicle has finally found its way out of the box. This week, I have spent three solid days with a trainer from the company that made my ROV to learn how to troubleshoot, maintain, and operate the vehicle. The training has been truly enlightening. Not only is the vehicle simpler than I expected (I can take the whole thing apart and put it back together in a few hours), but it is more powerful and dexterous in the water than I thought possible. 

In addition to the standard flying lessons, my instructor set up some challenges for me in WHOI's pool. I had to steer the vehicle around a pole, through a hole, turn around, and come back out. I had to pick up weights from the bottom. At one point, my trainer noticed a pair of gloves that someone had lost on the bottom of the pool and had me pick them up. I honestly didn't know my vehicle could maneuver finely enough to grab something that delicate, but it worked! 

I'm excited to have such a versatile tool for research in my lab. Now to design a project that needs an ROV...