Development of a biological sensor bay for the Ranger AUV

Nekton Research is developing a biological sensor bay (BioBay) for use on the Ranger AUV. Transporting living biosensors on an AUV opens up new opportunities for environmental monitoring. Biological sensors provide an indication of overall water quality because organisms react to a broad variety of different pollutants. Measuring the extent to which a clam is open or closed (gape) has been shown to correlate with the presence of pollutants in the water. In order to account for intra-population statistical fluctuations, BioBay is capable of transporting 16 clams, each with a dedicated gape sensor. Through this design and research effort we have created several BioBay prototypes and assessed their impact on Ranger's performance. Clam gape sensing circuitry has been designed and integrated with Ranger's data logging capabilities. Open water field tests have been conducted with BioBays mounted on Ranger. Results from the BioBay design project are discussed in this report along with descriptions of the designs and details about test procedures.