The Gold Coast Waterways Authority (GCWA) says a new remotely-operated underwater vehicle (ROV) has been specially developed to improve waterways management.
The Rangerbot, named Nyah, will be used for a number of jobs, including marine habitat surveys, seabed sediment sampling, maintenance checks on navigation aids and to help search for, and retrieve, objects from the water.
Nyah is the Yugambeh word for ‘look see’, and the name was given to the ROV by a Gold Coast Year 3 student who won a recent competition to name the robot.
Launching Nyah, Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Mark Bailey said the Rangerbot would add another dimension to the management and research skills of the GCWA team.
“Nyah gives the Gold Coast Waterways Authority the ability to do a deeper dive under the water and improve its understanding of what’s going on there, whether it’s broadening our understanding of marine life or checking for potential marine hazards,” Mr Bailey said.
“Nyah will provide access to real-time information needed to effectively manage an asset which has a natural capital value of $26 billion and supports thousands of jobs in the marine, tourism and recreation industries.”
He said the technology was developed locally by the Queensland University of Technology and adapted for use in Gold Coast waters.
Nyah comes equipped with multiple cameras enabling it to look above, behind, below and in front of itself, acoustic sensors to help with navigation and a special gripping arm for retrieving objects and scientific samples.
