CAT 2.19 - Mary Ann Hits Bottom

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Even though the AUVs have a titanium frame and can withstand the pressure of 6000 meters of seawater, they are not invincible. While going through images that Mary Ann took during a camera test dive, we discovered just how close she came to not only hitting the bottom, but also potentially lodging herself in the rugged terrain. Its a difficult task to fly a 2000-pound vehicle just 60 meters above the seafloor, especially when the seafloor isnt flat. To counter some of the inherent problems, the AUVs have a built-in collision avoidance system. A pencil-beam sonar pings out in front of the vehicle and lets it know if needs to adjust its altitude to fly over approaching obstacles. In some cases, though, the vehicle can only move out of the way so fast. Thankfully, on this expedition, we managed to walk away with only a few minor scrapes.


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Category:

Science & Technology

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• Waitt
• Institute
• for
• Discovery
• CATALYST
• Amelia
• Earhart
• Search
• Electra
• Howland
• Island
• AUV
• Woods
• Hole
• Harbor
• Branch