Other Activities
The transition of Dorado to routine science operations at MBARI has spawned a range of development activities creating specialized payloads and new operational capabilities. The ability to take a water sample aboard the AUV has been discussed by MBARI researchers for years, and in 2005 the Gulper project, lead by Alana Sherman, started the process of creating a payload capable of taking 10 samples, two liters each in volume. A low speed control project is integrating digital imaging systems, and developing capability for near-bottom AUV operations.