The Mini Rover ROV was the world's first small, low cost
remotely operated underwater vehicle
A remotely operated underwater vehicle (technically ROUV or just ROV) is a tethered underwater mobile device, commonly called ''underwater robot''.
Definition
This meaning is different from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the ai ...
(ROV) when it was introduced in early 1983. After a demonstration to industry professionals, in the Spring of 1984, it made a significant entry to the remotely operated vehicle market.
It is a self-propelled, tethered, free swimming vehicle that was designed and built by Chris Nicholson of Deep Sea Systems International, Inc. (DSSI). The Mini Rover ROV entered the ROV market at a price of $26,850 when the next lowest cost ROV was $100,000. Nicholson built the first Mini Rover ROV in his garage in Falmouth, MA.
It was 26 inches long and weighed 55 pounds. It could be carried on airplanes as luggage.
The Mini Rover ROV has been involved in many undersea expeditions including the 1989 3D filming of the
SS Edmund Fitzgerald
SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America ...
and the 1989 and 1990 Pearl Harbor Project with the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
and
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
to survey the
USS Arizona Memorial
The USS ''Arizona'' Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and commemorates the events of that day. The ...
.
In the 1989
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...
film,
The Abyss, the Mini Rover MKII ROV is credited as "Little Geek".
The size and portability of