Robert A. Heinlein once wrote a book called ‘Have Space Suit – Will Travel’ but I would argue that the same thing could be said for underwater robots. During the past several weeks of preparation for this summer’s Deepworker deployment I have been doing some extensive travel with some of the other AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) projects in which I am involved. Two of the more interesting places have been Aberdeen, Scotland and Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.
The helicopter underwater escape training simulator
The first of these was to do the Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Training course (BOSIET). This is the training necessary to prepare for potential rescue scenarios for transport to offshore oil rigs, and is required for an upcoming AUV project. One of the more intimidating parts of the training was an inverted exit of a flooded helicopter simulator. The simulator shown on the right is lowered into the water while you breathe through a rebreather (where air is temporarily stored in your life jacket). This allows you to breathe underwater for about 30 seconds and allows you enough time to release from the harness and push out the window and exit. This was a definitely a unique experience that puts a new perspective on working in and around the water, at Pavilion Lake and elsewhere over open water in the Caspian Sea and over sea-ice in the Canadian High Arctic.
Adam Skarke from the University of Delaware getting ready to deploy the Gavia vehicle
On my return from Aberdeen, I stopped over in Chesapeake Bay to attend an event informally known as AUVFest 2009 where four AUV groups from around the United States met to perform a demonstration of their technologies, and to work with educators on how to transfer knowledge from the practice to the classroom. This was a fantastic workshop that really emphasized how every vehicle, with their varied sensor setups, fills a different niche for underwater exploration. For me, this really hit home as an important concept at Pavilion Lake, where we have a wide array of tools and vehicles that must be optimized in order to get the best scientific returns. Sharing the varied and extensive experience at this workshop showed that Heinlein was right with a slight variation: “Have AUV – Will Travel”.
~Alex Forrest
