Octonaut Project

Brief Project Summary:
The intent of this project is to build a working Arduino Car that will take instructions wirelessly through a receiver and transmitter. The data transmitted will be movement instructions based off of information from a color-sensitive optics sensor. that will receive data from observing the color changes of an octopus. The data will correspond to certain preprogrammed commands based on processed color variation commands and will then transmit driving instructions to the Arduino Car to complete various tasks. The intent of which being that when the octopus changes to a certain color, that color will indicate an action for the car. The hope is that the octopus will learn that the color changes and the car's movements are interconnected.
This bears a particularly interesting challenge as Octopi are incredibly copper intolerant, and most electronics require copper or a similar material to function. This means that the test subjects cannot come into contact with the electrical components in any fashion and great care needs to be taken. To minimize exposure, the top of the tank will be lined with AstroTurf, as it is one of the only things that Octopi cannot grasp securely. This will keep any Octopus occupant inside the tank and safer from copper exposure.

Background:
This project is intended to determine whether Octopi could be taught to control autonomous vehicles. The implications of the outcome of this experiment could open different avenues of research with octopi possibly being used to explore deep underwater areas that humans are currently incapable of exploring, gaining data from how an octopus interacts with an extraterrestrial landscape, and many other various applications to be discovered.
Should octopi be found to have the ability to be trained to operate autonomous vehicles, it would give insight into how to properly train Octopi to operate machinery, and how Octopi could best interact with technology. These would be the first steps into training an octopus to retrieve deep-sea data using a small recording device and a light, rather than an expensive and costly submarine rig which could only reach a maximal depth of 6,000 meters. To compete with this fact, Octopi have been found at depths of 7,000 meters and are speculated to be able to live at depths compatible with ocean floor exploration. This would not only potentially cheapen seafloor exploration, but would require less training and preparation.

Tools:
Matlab
Soldering kit
Oscilloscope
Power supply
Digital Multimeter
Waveform Generator
Breadboarding kit

Anticipated Necessary Project Materials:
Arduino Board
4 Basic Servo Motors
4 Wheel Kits
Wiring kit
Basic Antenna
Basic Reciever
Various Color Sensitive Optic Sensors
Basic ARM core (to be decided)
Glass 4'x4' tank
Epoxy Sealant
Astro Turf
Super Glue