Underwater Automated Camera POTBot for Stereo-Video Applications

Underwater video surveys provide high-resolution data of biodiversity, including fish assemblages and habitat composition, critical for marine monitoring and management. In this paper we present further development of programmable automated cameras (POTBots) towards their application to stereo-systems and an easier way to program survey tasks. The re-design of the POTBots housing allows a fixed camera position and orientation relative to a flat base, suitable for stereo-video applications. The POTBot control strategy is adapted to enable the programming of any task involving video, data acquisition and logging based on trigger events such as submersion in water, orientation or timed events.