So in the end, instead of a polar research ship called Boaty McBoatface, we have a research ship called David Attenborough that deploys a yellow submarine robot called Boaty McBoatface that goes on adventures.
I'm OK with this turn of events.
Stand by for the adventures of Boaty, the plucky sub that takes on the toughest jobs in polar science.
Scientists plan to send the long-range autonomous vehicle under the sea-ice of the Arctic - from one side of the ocean basin to the other. It is a journey of at least 2,500km - and while nuclear subs might routinely do it, the prospect is a daunting one for a battery-operated research vehicle.
“Previously, such subs have gone perhaps 150km under the ice and then come back out out again. Boaty will have the endurance to go all the way across the Arctic.”
“One of the things we’re going to do is teach Boaty to read a map,” said Prof Wynn. “You give it a map of the seabed in its brain and then as it travels it uses sonar to collect data that it can compare with the stored map. This should tell it where it is. It’s a neat concept but it’s never been tested over thousands of km before.”
Boaty is the latest in a long line of robots that have had the anthropomorphism treatment. But be warned if you plan to get attached to this particular plucky sub. “We do occasionally lose our vehicles, and they can get caught in fishing nets from time to time,” cautioned Prof Wynn. “There could well be some dramas ahead for those people who plan to follow Boaty on his missions."
I withdraw all my previous criticism. The whole thing is adorable.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37685883
Pedantic submarine people everywhere will be happy. A sub is a boat. The other craft is a ship.
ReplyDeleteHadn't you picked up on that? They announced it at the time: https://nameourship.nerc.ac.uk/ A nice compromise.
ReplyDeletenameourship.nerc.ac.uk - Name our Ship | NERC
There's a wonderful story told of Al Gore, the American politician who was almost elected President. He's a great soul, a devotee of science, I could go on for hours about him. Anyway... when relations between the USA and USSR improved, he seized the opportunity to complete the map of the world. You see, during the Cold War, both the US Navy and Russian navy had constructed detailed maps of the floor of the Arctic Ocean from their submarines. Al Gore set up a series of meetings, the American and Russian cartographers compared notes - hey presto, the map of the world was complete.
ReplyDeleteAlun Jones I was aware of it, but I wasn't aware of how well it would play out in practise. The cartoon is especially nice. They should hire whoever did those Rosetta/Philae animations...
ReplyDelete