Sidekick

Engineers in the Deep Submergence Laboratory at WHOI designed the remotely operated vehicle Jason II and its sidekick Medea  —shown here on the fantail of a ship— for scientific study of the deep ocean and seafloor. Medea acts like a weight between the ship and the vehicle, absorbing movement from above and allowing Jason II to roam without being affected by the motion of the surface ship.

(Photo by Tom Bolmer, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)