Ready, Set, Record

WHOI robotics and acoustics researcher Erin Fischell (right) prepares to launch an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in Ashumet Pond, Falmouth, while MIT-WHOI Joint Program student EeShan Bhatt (center) and WHOI research engineer Mike Jakuba wait in a kayak to follow the vehicle. Fischell and her team are using the AUV, called a Bluefin SandShark, to record underwater sounds. At less than two feet long and about 11 pounds without a payload, the robotic vehicles are in a new class of micro-AUV. Fischell says their small size makes them easy for her to carry and deploy in the field. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)