When i use a microscope to look at aquatic stuff, i often confront the problem that the amazing things i've just fished out of the puddle, pond or whatever are about to die, which seems nasty and unnecessary. So, why not take a leaf out of 'Fantastic Voyage'? Make a small, steerable camera which communicates with the computer either via some wireless network or tethered with a cable.

The user interface resembles a FPS game engine, with mouseable navigation allowing one to get the submarine to swim about in the liquid. It has two cameras, one for ordinary movement, the other akin to a microscope objective lens, plus a white LED. It's as small as it can feasibly be made, so maybe five millimetres in each direction, and can be used to observe small organisms in their own environments, inspecting plumbing and maybe doing a little microplumbing, and sifting through silt. It also has a couple of claws for manipulation. After use, drop it into some cleaning solution before you need it again.

It's powered by a small rechargeable electric motor.
-- nineteenthly, Jun 20 2010

Give this fish a microscope http://www.brokenci...nmental-pollutants/
[swimswim, Jun 20 2010]

If you don't object to tethering via a cable, then make it a steerable fiberoptic microendoscope. That way, most of your equipment is at the proximal end, where design constraints (size, waterproofing) are less difficult. All you put at the other end is lenses. "Steerable" endoscopes are an existing technology: the major drawback would be 1) I think they require a good deal of skill to steer and 2) I'm pretty sure they're less maneuverable than the device you describe. And definitely less cool, I acknowledge that.
-- mouseposture, Jun 20 2010


Well in that case, [bigsleep], I want one of those!
-- nineteenthly, Jun 20 2010



random, halfbakery