More Maori

Today the team revisited the HMS Maori once again. As always our goal was to try and get more footage and better footage of the wreck. What made today different were some new approaches to mission planning. First we re-ran prior missions created using Sam and Russel's planning software, but using a new rough bathymetry map which allowed us to plan for the AUV to reach greater depths. This allowed us to get a closer look at the Maori and capture previously unseen angles. Afterwards we tried Mitchell's new prototype planner which attempts to best enable photogrammetry by working out AUV paths by approximating the shape of regions of interest. Additionally we tried mounting one camera right facing in the hopes of capturing better data of the sides of the ship, which have previously been difficult to make out due to poor visibility and the higher depth AUV paths.

Russel and Dr. Wood deploying the IVER

Sam and Russel's plans worked excellently, and the added depth allowed us to see portions of the ship in wonderful detail. Likewise, Mitchell's alternative planner also performed very well, and it resulted in several clips that show the Moari from previously un-captured perspectives. It's too early to tell exactly how this will change the final reconstruction, but the results are very encouraging. Unfortunately it seems that none of today's missions went deep enough for the right facing camera to get good footage, however I think with a little tweaking we can capture some great data, and fill in a lot of blanks on the reconstruction.