TECHNOLOGY
A core belief of our operations is the development of open-source technologies that contribute to scientific inquiry and the development of our understanding of the oceans. Open source technologies are revolutionising our ability to discover; as science becomes more accessible, the power to ignite change lies within all of us. Open source approaches to tackling environmental issues means embracing collaborative tools and workflows which enables processes and progress to be fully transparent. A critical aspect of working open is sharing data not only with your immediate team but with others across the world who can learn, adapt and contribute to collective research.
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Engineering guides available, send a request to catherine@ausocean.org
Rig
The AusOcean "rig" is a low-cost sea surface platform for supporting ocean science in coastal waters. The rig is a custom pontoon design in a light-weight modular construction. Rigs are designed for long term deployments with flexible support for multiple sensors.
Underwater Camera
The AusOcean Fluid-Filled Pressure-compensating Underwater Camera (FPUC) is a low-cost Internet Protocol (IP) digital video camera designed for continuous water immersion, tested to 20m(65’). Unlike most consumer video cameras, the FPUC is designed for continuous streaming of video data. Using raspberry pi electronics and a PVC housing, this unit can be built for a fraction of the cost of commercially available long term underwater cameras.
Underwater Speaker
AusOcean speakers are utilised for audio playback underwater, typically at areas directly below the supporting rig. The speakers are considered a peripheral therefore, are powered and controlled by the on board controller. The Rig acts as a base to provide sufficient power for indefinite operation or until the end of a data collection period. Underwater speakers have recently been used to play healthy reef sounds to promote oyster larvae recruitment and have potential for other “reef treatment” applications to accelerate habitat recovery.
Underwater Hydrophone
The AusOcean Hydrophone is a underwater microphone designed for auditory monitoring in the underwater environment. This hydrophone can be used in conjuction with the underwater speakers to record and playback sounds, or to research different marine species i.e. cetaceans.
Rig Controller PCB
The custom PCB interfaces environmental sensors and peripheral devices with an ESP32 microcontroller. The controller monitors battery voltage, reads sensors, controls navlight sequencing and actuates power to peripherals such as underwater cameras and reef treatment speakers. with WiFi connectivity, the controller may be operated remotely using AusOcean's cloud service [CloudBlue](bench.cloudblue.org). The controller makes up part of the Mast Electronics Assembly (MEA), which fits into the mast.
Licenses
At AusOcean, we believe in fair, open and permissive licensing.
AusOcean software and hardware designs are licensed under the GNU General Public License.
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Content produced by AusOcean, whether by our people or our software, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License.
This applies to, but is not limited to, video and audio content. See also the 2019 content license.