Low cost does not come cheap: Working towards a low cost deep-sea autonomous observation system
During the past five years, the development and availability of marine robotic components such as propulsion and control systems, higher energy density batteries, pressure vessels and shared and open source software solutions have led to a significant increase in affordable marine robotic systems. The quality of the available components is often referred to as prosumer grade and is quite suitable for applications within the euphotic zone of our oceans (~200m). But how does this translate into scientific applications in general and for the deeper ocean beyond the upper 200m in particular? Using our current developments towards a small deep-sea autonomous observation system, this presentation will highlight some of the main driving and limiting factors in terms scientific applicability, and how we are planning to overcome some of them. But they do not come cheap!