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C-3PO, Meet RPV-340

May 6, 2017

When WHOI’s Deep Submergence Laboratory (DSL) was established in 1983, WHOI scientists Bob Ballard (right) and Dana Yoerger used a small vehicle called RPV-430, built by Benthos, Inc., as a test bed for research on supervisory control, human-machine interface design, and robotics, as the DSL group developed the remotely operated vehicle Jason. Since then, DSL has built and upgraded several remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles to explore the deep sea, including ABE (the Autonomous Benthic Explorer), Sentry, and Nereid Under Ice. Other deep-sea vehicles built by WHOI scientists and engineers include REMUS, SeaBED, and the human-occupied submersible Alvin. (Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Archives)