Got this email when I arrived to work this morning.
MEET CLEO, OUR UNDERWATER ROBOT!
(Find out how visitors will play a major role in Ocean Conservation)
MEDIA OPPORTUNITY
Thursday, December 9
11:30 a.m.
ReefBot, in partnership with The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and Carnegie Mellon University's Robotic Institute, will unveil a groundbreaking project.
(Pittsburgh) (December 2010)"”Groundbreaking research is taking place at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and our visitors are invited to play a major role. Through a partnership with the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, ReefBot, an interactive children's exhibit featuring an underwater robot designed to research and explore coral reefs, will be unveiled in the PPG Aquarium and will remain there for several years.
"œThis is a great opportunity to provide hands-on experiences for our visitors to learn about ocean conservation," says Dr. Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. "œReefBot will be a valuable tool in advancing ocean conservation work around the world and I am proud that the CMU Robotics Institute has chosen us to play a major role in the development of this technology."
At an interactive control station, visitors use remote controls to pilot CLEO, the underwater robot, around the tank. What is unique about CLEO is the smart camera technology on-board that enables visitors to get an up-close look at marine life. What CLEO sees, visitors see. Since CLEO is still learning, we need our visitors teach her how tell the fish apart. Visitors pilot CLEO around the tank and use her technology to snap photos of fish which will be uploaded to the screen. Visitors then can match the photos they took with an existing photo on the ReefBot screen to identify the type of fish. This process not only encourages visitors to learn about the fish in the PPG Aquarium's Open Oceans tank, it also will assist other robots likeCLEO in future exploration and identification of fish and other marine life in the wild.
That information will be stored and eventually used to identify fish populations in reef habitats in the wild. "œReefBot is a first of its kind underwater robotic exhibit and PPG Aquarium is the perfect testing ground for developing new technology while we encourage kids and adults to become excited about ocean exploration and conservation," says Justine Kasznica, the Program Manager of ReefBot.
Technology developed through the ReefBot exhibit has far-reaching applications. Scientists need new tools to gather important data related to rising ocean temperatures and water acidification from increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere. The changes that occur daily in our ocean waters are a result of the increased destruction of coral reefs and the elimination of some fish populations. Coral reefs, often referred to as the rainforests of the ocean, balance the ecosystems that provide homes and food for many underwater species. Yet scientists believe the coral population could be extinct by the year 2050. ReefBot technology can play an important role by identifying areas where coral life and fish populations are being sharply affected and efforts can begin to reverse the destruction.
ReefBot is supported by Spark, a program of The Sprout Fund.
MEET CLEO, OUR UNDERWATER ROBOT!
(Find out how visitors will play a major role in Ocean Conservation)
MEDIA OPPORTUNITY
Thursday, December 9
11:30 a.m.
ReefBot, in partnership with The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and Carnegie Mellon University's Robotic Institute, will unveil a groundbreaking project.
(Pittsburgh) (December 2010)"”Groundbreaking research is taking place at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and our visitors are invited to play a major role. Through a partnership with the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, ReefBot, an interactive children's exhibit featuring an underwater robot designed to research and explore coral reefs, will be unveiled in the PPG Aquarium and will remain there for several years.
"œThis is a great opportunity to provide hands-on experiences for our visitors to learn about ocean conservation," says Dr. Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. "œReefBot will be a valuable tool in advancing ocean conservation work around the world and I am proud that the CMU Robotics Institute has chosen us to play a major role in the development of this technology."
At an interactive control station, visitors use remote controls to pilot CLEO, the underwater robot, around the tank. What is unique about CLEO is the smart camera technology on-board that enables visitors to get an up-close look at marine life. What CLEO sees, visitors see. Since CLEO is still learning, we need our visitors teach her how tell the fish apart. Visitors pilot CLEO around the tank and use her technology to snap photos of fish which will be uploaded to the screen. Visitors then can match the photos they took with an existing photo on the ReefBot screen to identify the type of fish. This process not only encourages visitors to learn about the fish in the PPG Aquarium's Open Oceans tank, it also will assist other robots likeCLEO in future exploration and identification of fish and other marine life in the wild.
That information will be stored and eventually used to identify fish populations in reef habitats in the wild. "œReefBot is a first of its kind underwater robotic exhibit and PPG Aquarium is the perfect testing ground for developing new technology while we encourage kids and adults to become excited about ocean exploration and conservation," says Justine Kasznica, the Program Manager of ReefBot.
Technology developed through the ReefBot exhibit has far-reaching applications. Scientists need new tools to gather important data related to rising ocean temperatures and water acidification from increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere. The changes that occur daily in our ocean waters are a result of the increased destruction of coral reefs and the elimination of some fish populations. Coral reefs, often referred to as the rainforests of the ocean, balance the ecosystems that provide homes and food for many underwater species. Yet scientists believe the coral population could be extinct by the year 2050. ReefBot technology can play an important role by identifying areas where coral life and fish populations are being sharply affected and efforts can begin to reverse the destruction.
ReefBot is supported by Spark, a program of The Sprout Fund.
