OpenROV: 'We built our own underwater robot'

It was a sprit of adventure that inspired David Lang and Eric Stackpole to build their own underwater robot.

They had heard that there was gold in an underwater cave in Northern California and wanted to take a look.

They couldn't afford to buy a robot, so they designed and made their own.

"When I want something new, I no longer think, 'Who is is selling that?' I think, 'how can I build it myself?'" says Stackpole.

The pair created an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) which costs less than $1,000. They also made all of the design details available for nothing so that other people can make their own robots and share ideas about how to improve them.

Their aim is to "democratise" exploration. "It shouldn't take a research grant to do exploration," he says. "It should take curiosity."

Video producer: Anna Bressanin