MNN - Mother Nature Network

Always wanted a little eco-robot to do green things for you? Now you can at least help name one — if you win the Nature Conservancy’s new contest. The eco-nonprofit’s getting a new underwater robot — a.k.a. Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) — and wants your help naming it.

 

Next month, this yet-to-be-named ROV will start helping study the effects of trawl fishing off California’s Central Coast by “flying” just above the seafloor taking video and photos. The ROV’s work will be used by researchers from the Conservancy, California State University Monterey Bay, National Marine Fisheries Service, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Marine Applied Research and Exploration and fishing partners.

 

In addition, the ROV’s work could be used to help “pioneer environmentally and economically sustainable fishing techniques” and to assist “the California Department of Fish and Game, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, MARE and other partners to research and monitor deep-sea habitats in the Channel Islands Marine Protected Areas.”

 

Unfortunately, you don’t get to come up with your own name for the underwater robot. You have to pick between the 5 options — my favorite being Beagle, the name of Darwin’s famous ship, because I’m a huge fan of the evolutionist. Get your vote in by the end of this month — then find out which name won at nature.org on Sept. 25.