Expedition log by MBARI Graduate Fellow Javiera Fuentes Guíñez

In the weeks leading up to our departure to Sur Ridge, our team of engineers and pilots has been working together to prepare the MiniROV and its mapping systems for the expedition.

Preparation starts with the vehicle itself. MiniROV pilots Johann and Frank run full-system checks to ensure propulsion, navigation, and communications are operating properly. With the vehicle confirmed ready, we begin integrating the CoMPAS Lab’s Portable Mapping System (PoMS).

The PoMS is a compact sled that carries a suite of instruments designed to help us map and monitor the seafloor at high resolution, including a multibeam echosounder, a forward-looking sonar, stereo cameras, structured-light lasers, a Doppler velocity log (DVL), and inertial navigation sensors. MBARI’s mechanical engineering team designed and built custom mounts to securely position each instrument. Once installed, engineers connect power and network systems so data can travel through the MiniROV’s tether to the surface.

That tether links the vehicle to its control room, where pilots guide the MiniROV during dives while engineers monitor incoming data streams. From this space, engineers can adjust and tune sensor parameters in real time to adapt to changing conditions and maintain data quality. At the same time, onboard computing systems process the incoming mapping data, allowing the team to generate high-resolution seafloor maps and build detailed views of Sur Ridge as we explore.

Before heading to sea, the team validates the full system in MBARI’s test tank. Over several days, the MiniROV undergoes multiple test dives to ensure the vehicle and mapping sled operate reliably together. During these dives, we confirm that each sensor is collecting data, properly synchronized, and communicating smoothly with the processing pipeline.

A key part of this phase is camera calibration. We deploy calibration targets, including ArUco boards, to collect data for refining camera intrinsics and extrinsics. We also test the visual targets that will be used during the expedition for localization. The team practices the MiniROV’s ability to detect and recognize these markers, validating that the system can use them for positioning during field operations.

In addition, we rehearsed the MiniROV’s survey capability. Using tools developed by the CoMPAS Lab, the vehicle operates in a fully autonomous mode, navigating along a predefined grid while collecting data from all sensors. These tests allow us to evaluate autonomous navigation performance and verify that the system can generate high-resolution maps under realistic operating conditions.

Since this will be the first deployment of the MiniROV from R/V David Packard, we also conducted launch and recovery practice in the harbor near MBARI. These rehearsals bring together pilots, engineers, and deck crew to ensure safe and coordinated operations.

By the time we leave port, the MiniROV, mapping system, and ship are operating as one integrated system—the result of many hands working together behind the scenes.