Presentation at MBARI – Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

In an alternate reality, were I to be employed, there is a very small group of organizations that I would find alluring. MBARI is one of them… a playground of oceanographic research, with a blend of academic exploration and corporate deep pockets that has attracted geeks across a broad spectrum. An old friend of mine, David Wright, was working here at the time, and he arranged this little informal presentation. (Click flyer image for larger version.)

I didn’t want to leave. During this visit, I toured their drool-inducing Western Flyer SWATH research vessel, spent some time in the labs, and got some great insights into harsh-environment packaging. The audience was small, but it was a comfortable presentation... capturing the state of the Microship project just after it resumed in our new 3,000 square foot lab in the Camano Island woods. Here is the video of my talk, and the flyer announcing it is down the page…

Incidentally, I had a chance to go out on an ROV deployment in May, 1993 aboard the Ventana, and took a video of the experience.

Presenting BEHEMOTH and Microship at MBARI – 1999 from Steven K Roberts on Vimeo.

From BEHEMOTH to Microship:
A Technomadic Update

a presentation at MBARI
February 5, 1999
Monterey, California

As a technomad for the past 15 years, I became known through the 80’s for my 17,000-mile adventure aboard BEHEMOTH. In its final incarnation, this computer-laden recumbent bicycle carried 105 gears, satellite net connection, multi-mode ham station, navigation tools, heads-up display, handlebar keyboard, pneumatic landing gear, and much more. The bike is retired now except for accompanying me on occasional speaking tours, while the new project — the Microship — is underway in my Camano Island lab. This canoe-scale pedal/solar/sail microtrimaran includes a graphic browser-based interface to embedded control and data collection systems, along with wireless links to manpacks, and a fully integrated suite of navigation and weather tools.

The bike will be on stage for this seminar, and slides will be shown of work in progress on the Microship project.

(This was part of MBARI’s 1999 seminar series.)