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A large team of oceanographers is again exploring 'Lost City,' an hydrothermal vent field located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which was discovered in 2000 and named like this because of the myth of Atlantis. But this time, the oceanographers are not on a ship. Most of them are in a room at the University of Washington in Seattle. And according to this article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, they're using high-speed Internet connections to control robotic vehicles exploring the deep Atlantic Ocean thousands of miles away. Thanks to satellites, the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) Argus and Hercules can transmit videos back to Seattle in real time. After analysis, the scientists can move the ROVs to specific areas of interest without having their feet wet.
Now, let's read the introduction of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer article.
Think of it as the Mars Rover but at the bottom of the ocean, remotely exploring our own planet's most alien landscape for scientists back at mission control.
"This is how the science is going to be done," said Deborah Kelley, a University of Washington oceanographer.
In 2000, Kelley was part of the expedition which discovered a huge collection of limestone towers in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and some of these hydrothermal vent towers were hundreds of feet high.
Five years ago, the expedition used a manned vehicle. But in 2005, the scientists are in Seattle, operating unmanned vehicles 2,500 miles away in real time.
Yesterday, Kelley and her colleagues were in Seattle and also "virtually" back at the Lost City to demonstrate how robotics and information technology can transform deep-ocean exploration. What once required dangerous and time-limited manned exploits can now be done by remote control on a ship deck or in an office thousands of miles away.
http://www.primidi.com/2005/08/02.html
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