![]() "The creation of a new deep-ocean video camera system of the highest quality has significant technical challenges-and risk!" said Chaffey.ĭesigning a deep-water 4K camera required careful consideration about operating under extreme conditions-the deep sea is an unforgiving environment that is cold and under crushing pressure. DeepSea Power & Light has extensive experience with glass camera domes at pressure and understood the challenges for developing a camera for MBARI's deep-diving ROVs. In October 2019, MBARI enlisted DeepSea Power & Light to develop the new underwater 4K camera. Partnering with a well-established commercial vendor helps MBARI transfer technology innovations to the global market. MBARI's mission is to advance marine science and technology to understand the changing ocean and disseminate this knowledge to the community at large. The team selected the broadcast-quality 4K UHD format with a pixel resolution of 3840 by 2160-a resolution exactly four times that of HD. With video imaging worldwide now transitioning to 4K resolutions, MBARI saw an exciting opportunity to develop a camera system that takes full advantage of the higher resolution, color rendition, dynamic range, and frame rates that this format offers. ![]() The higher quality enabled researchers to better document deep-sea animals and environments. The last great advance in MBARI's video imaging capabilities was more than 20 years ago, when the institute transitioned to recording in an HD television format-1080i resolution, or 1920 by 1080 pixels. "And, of course, this stunning imagery is simply mesmerizing and we enjoy sharing these inspirations with the public." As we accumulate these highly valuable details, the bigger picture starts to come into clearer view and enriches our understanding about the different communities of deep-sea animals, the environments that they inhabit, and how things might be changing over time," explained Video Laboratory Manager Nancy Jacobsen Stout. "At MBARI, we annotate all of the video captured by our ROVs and permanently archive these discoveries into our one-of-a-kind Video Annotation and Reference Systems, or VARS. Images and video recorded by ROVs Ventana, Tiburon (now retired), and Doc Ricketts are shared across MBARI's social media platforms and have been showcased in publications, productions, and exhibitions around the world.Ĭredit: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Video is also important for education and outreach. Research groups across the institute mine an associated archive of more than 27,600 hours of video to learn about the deep sea. ![]() ![]() In 34 years of deep-sea research, MBARI's ROVs have logged more than 5,800 dives. Video is a precious-and unique-resource at MBARI. "The new MxD SeaCam that we developed with DeepSea Power & Light captures life in the deep sea in astonishing detail." "Seeing the rapid adoption of 4K imaging and recognizing the scientific value that increased resolution brings to our research team, MBARI began evaluating opportunities to upgrade the HD camera systems on our ROVs to 4K in 2018," explained MBARI Electrical Engineer Mark Chaffey. Now, a collaboration between MBARI and DeepSea Power & Light has provided the tools to capture video in 4K ultra high-definition (UHD) resolution thousands of meters below the ocean's surface. High-definition, or HD, cameras on MBARI's remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) have recorded thousands of hours of video helping the institute's research team piece together the mysteries of Earth's largest, but least explored, living space.
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