underwater
Latest
Increased lung capacity in Wrath Beta
While there's no definite word from a blue on whether it's working as intended or not, there's an interesting buff on the Beta servers at the moment: Everyone seems to have a much longer breath timer when swimming underwater. Whereas it took about 1 minute for breath to run out, now it seems to last for approximately 3 minutes. In effect then, it's like everyone has gained the Underwater Breathing racial of the Forsaken. If it's a permanent buff and not just some crossed wires, it should make underwater questing (and there is some in Wrath) a bit easier! Of course, I'm not giving up my Hydrocane just yet, either. It seems like a strange change to make out of the blue, and it does negate one of the Forsaken's racials, more or less.
Robofish communicate with each other, engage in synchronized swimming
Traditional fish should definitely start keeping their guard up, as we've seen a noticeable influx of robotic alternatives flapping around here recently. Joining the school today is the Robofish, a robotic swimming creature developed at the University of Washington. Reportedly, a trio of the units have been built, and during a recent workshop, the bots were able to communicate with one another and successfully swim in either one direction or in different directions. Eventually, researchers hope that these mechanical animals could explore underwater caves, track moving targets or plunge beneath ice sheets, but there's still work to be done before the creature's coordination ability is up to the challenge. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...[Via Slashdot]
Grace Audio Weatherprooof Submersible Wireless Speaker does just what you think it would
Ah, summertime. Hot dogs, baseball, beer, bikinis, submersible pool speakers. Yeah, we said that. This speaker, called the Weatherproof Submersible Wireless Speaker (bonus points for creativity, guys) from Grace Audio is good for up to 9 feet of underwater music fun. The turtle-like unit connects to any music source up to 150 feet away, runs for about six hours on a single charge, and will set you back around $149 with additional speakers for $99 each. Up to ten speakers can be chained wirelessly for the ultimate sub-surface disco bash.[Via Crave]
City of Heroes to venture underwater?
Sometimes the tiny unannounced changes are the most fun. City of Heroes Issue 12: The Midnight Hour, currently in Open Beta, has sneaked a little extra feature in under the radar.Ordinarily, characters in CoX who fall into the water simply splash about on the surface. You can swim around there, but diving has been impossible, with the tantalizing exception of one narrow shaft in Grandville. This had been the only place where characters could submerge completely, although there was no underwater swimming, just a very surprised Coralax on a coffee break.
Sealife DC800 underwater camera goes deep, stays dry
Attention wet people: Sealife has released the DC800 Underwater Digital Camera. This modular unit -- it drops into a waterproof case or will operate as an out-of-water point-and-shoot -- includes an 8-megapixel camera with 2.7-inch display, wide-angle lens, SD/SDHC card support, and 4x optical zoom. So what makes this camera diver-friendly? Its menus and modes are designed for sub-surface snappers with five underwater modes to deal with the various water bodies' muck, grime, and color. The DC800 will function at 200 feet, weighs about 17 ounces and will set you back $549. Sure, you could get another point-and-shoot and waterproof case, but prepare to suffer the ridicule of your diver friends.
Kongsberg Maritime intros underwater HD camera
Unfortunately, Kongsberg Maritime's oe14-502A is a far cry from being a traditional handycam wrapped up in a waterproof casing. Rather, this device was designed to latch onto remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and capture footage from the deep in glorious high-definition. More specifically, the inspection camera can capture at SD, 720p or 1080i (switchable via IR remote) and can handle PAL or NTSC. Of course, the standard model can "only" wander down some 4,500 meters before calling it quits (or imploding, whichever comes first), but that should be quite enough to grab some interesting undersea footage for pitching to Discovery.
Fourth undersea cable cut near UAE, suspicions rise
For the fourth time in a week, an undersea communications cable has apparently been cut (or "failed due to a power outage," as some sources suggest), and while no official reports of subversion have surfaced just yet, things are beginning to get suspicious. Flag Telecom, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group, has had two cables damaged in the span of a week -- a quandary it has never dealt with until now. As it stands, traffic from the Middle East and surrounding areas is being routed through various other cables in an attempt to remain online, but any more snips and we could be dealing with ping times eerily similar to those seen in 1993 (or much, much larger issues).[Image courtesy of DivingCo]
Around Azeroth: The Deeprun deception
Reader Quigley, Gnome Engineer and Pearl Diver of the Nagrand server, was taking a trip on the Deeprun Tram and saw an opportunity for some fun. He explains that he "realised, whilst wearing my 'Deepdive Suit' (Helm and some leathers that look the part), there was an opportunity for a lush underwater scene. It all began when I noticed that certain mail gear had the same colour palette as the Helm, then came the matter of finding a suit. Found something suitably frumpy leather set.. voila! Diving Suit. [It] often causes passersby some pause when I trot out of the water."Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer fullscreen shots without the UI showing.%Gallery-1816%
Liquid Image intros underwater digital camera mask
There's already plenty of waterproof cameras out there for those looking to engage in a little casual underwater photography, but those wanting to step up their game a bit may want to consider Liquid Image's new underwater digital camera mask, which'll let you capture those action packed moments as you fight off a shark, or pick up sea shells. You apparently won't be able to do that any deeper than 15 feet, however, and you'll have to make do without an optical zoom or most of the other features you'd expect from a regular camera. On the upside, you will get crosshairs on the googles themselves to help line up your shot, and you'll be able to capture as much VGA video as you can cram onto a microSD card (or the 16MB of internal memory). No word on a price, but you'll apparently be able to get your hands on your choice of a 3.1 or 5.0 megapixel version sometime in March.
Build your own underwater ROV for $250
Granted, this here project isn't nearly as inexpensive as the $100 underwater ROV from years back, but at least this one is propelled by something a bit more advanced than a pull string. Regardless, the ROV-in-a-Box Project Kit -- created by folks from Carl Hayden High School for use in the National Underwater Robotics Challenge -- is a $249.95 package that "includes all the parts needed to build a working underwater robot: a frame, motors, underwater light, camera, 50-foot tether, operator control box, and a dry-cell battery." Of course, you'll still be required to provide your own tools and TV monitor, but to take a closer look at exactly what a nickel under $250 will buy you, click on through for a detailed video (but do tap Mute beforehand, okay?).[Via GoRobotics]
Vietnamese fishermen mistakenly swipe miles of fiber-optic wire
While this mishap may not look as if it would cost Vietnam nearly as much as the Alaskan vaporization, losing 27-miles of critical fiber-optic cabling connecting the underdeveloped nation to Thailand and Hong Kong is fairly serious (and pricey). As it turns out, hordes of Vietnamese fishermen were given permission to salvage war-era undersea copper lines to fetch whatever price they could on local markets, but things got out of hand when vital telecommunication pipelines began getting swiped instead of antiquated cabling. The country has since disallowed the removal of any underwater wire until things pan out, but it looks like Vietnam will be relying on a single cable to the outside world until it can pony up the $5.8 million in replacement costs.
Twinbird's SD ZABADY DAP sheds water
Twinbird's no stranger to the land of waterproof gizmos, and the company's latest device to shed water with grace is the SD ZABADY. This digital audio player comes in black or silver color schemes, houses 128MB of internal storage capacity, handles SD cards up to 2GB in size, and plays nice with both MP3 and WMA formats. Additionally, it sports an external LCD, built-in speakers, USB 2.0 connectivity, and a reported playback time of around 18-hours. The best part, however, is its ability to hold out water from seeping in whilst submerged in up to one meter of liquid for a half hour, meaning that it's the perfect shower singing companion if you're not up to purchasing in-tub speakers for your bathroom. Look for the SD ZABADY to hit Japanese streets later this week for ¥15,000 ($123), and click on through for a few more snaps.[Via AkihabaraNews]
DepthX robotic submarine maps world's deepest sinkhole
After the recent streak of robotic failures that we've seen, it's refreshing to see yet another success story come our way. Just as it did in February, the two-meter wide DepthX (Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer) robotic submarine successfully mapped out a massive sinkhole in Mexico, but this time was quite a bit more rewarding. The cavern that it ventured into was the El Zacatón Cenote, which is better known as the world's deepest water-filled sinkhole, and the machine was able to delve some 270-meters down to "create the first map of the giant cavity." The hole itself is large enough to "swallow New York's Chrysler Building," and while the endeavor was indeed a success, researchers are hoping to get it back down there in the near future to better analyze a mysterious slope that it wasn't quite able to probe. Godspeed, DepthX.[Via Slashdot]
Autonomous glider robot safeguards whale pods
We've all heard the diehards claiming that the whales are the ones we should save, and thanks to an autonomous glider crafted by Webb Research, they're finally getting their wish. Recently, a trial was pursued in which a radio / satellite phone-equipped Slocum Glider was sent up to 200-meters beneath the depths in order to survey, pinpoint, and record location data for various whale pods swimming about. The device then surfaces and "phones home" the recently gathered information, which can then be disseminated out to ensure nearby vessels don't enter whale-packed territories. Jim Theriault of Defense Research and Development Canada, Dartmouth ran the experiment, and noted that this iteration of whale sensing and reporting improved on previous attempts by being uber-stealthy, featuring a remote data reporting system, and boasting a signal processor capable of tracking even the baleen whale's "lower-frequency call." Currently, the torpedo runs on batteries which last a month or so without needing a recharge, but future renditions are planned to scour the waters for "between five months and a year" by utilizing a special recharging gel. Look for these to hit your nearest ocean later this summer, and try not to be too alarmed when it surfaces beside your craft.[Via The Raw Feed]
$500 million underwater fiber network to link Asia, America
Unfortunately for most, traversing back and forth to Asia from America on a regular basis isn't exactly in the cards, but thanks to a $500 million project agreed upon by a 17-member telecommunications consortium, visiting via fiber will soon be a whole lot snappier. Telekom Malaysia, along with 16 other firms, have awarded a half billion dollar contract to Alcatel-Lucent and NEC to construct a 12,428-mile link between the west coast of America and Southeast Asia. The aptly-dubbed Asia-America Gateway will connect the western US with Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii, while also offering "seamless interconnection" with Europe, Africa, and Australia. Moreover, the project is being designed to provide a "more secure link for traffic" across the seas, as it avoids the hazardous Pacific Ring in hopes of dodging massive internet outages due to unexpected earthquakes. Best of all, the wait time for the undersea cabling to make an impact is fairly reasonable, as users should see "faster and more reliable service" when it becomes operational in December of next year.[Via Physorg]
SwiMP3 v2: Bone conducting underwater MP3 player gets an upgrade
It's taken 'em nearly three years to get around to it, but Finis have a new version of their SwiMP3 underwater MP3 player coming out. Like the original, the SwiMP3 v2 uses bone conduction, rather than regular earphones, to transmit sound directly from your cheek bone to your inner ear (it all sounds a little creepy, but bone conduction is pretty much the best way to listen to stuff underwater). Version 2 of the SwiMP3 is a little smaller and sleeker than the original, though it still doesn't have all that much storage -- even after two-and-a-half years they've only managed to bump the SwiMP3 from 128MB up to 256MB. Still, with a specialized player like this you really only need enough music for your swim, right?
University of Washington's Raven to try surgery in simulated spacecraft
If you thought ASTRO and NextSat were the only two autonomous robots frolicking around in testing environments, Raven would certainly beg to differ, as NASA has recently announced that the University of Washington's mobile surgical robot will soon be off to tackle surgical tasks whilst underwater. The 12th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations test will see the mechanical MD pick up the tools in a simulated spacecraft submerged near Key Largo, Florida, where the "mission will test current technology for sending remote-controlled surgical robotic systems into space." Thanks to a combination of wired and wireless networks, a trio of seasoned veterans back in Seattle will be dictating the movements remotely, as the bot attempts to "suture a piece of rubber and move blocks from one spindle to another." Interestingly, there was no word on whether Raven was scheduled to pick up the night shift at Seattle Grace upon its return from the depths.[Via MedLaunches]
Office of Naval Research patents "underwater GPS"
Being decidely land-dwelling creatures -- our only real underwater experiences were some nasty childhood dunking incidents at the local pool -- we've got no real use for determining our location beneath the waves, but apparently the folks who drive around all day in submarines do, so the US Office of Naval Research has whipped up a relatively simple method for "geophysical positioning" when satellite GPS data is inaccessible. You'll recall that we recently saw another patent which claimed to offer the same functionality for above ground, indoor locations, but that involved using surface-level receivers and ceiling-mounted repeaters -- a setup not possible when satellite signals can't penetrate deep underwater. The ONR's solution is to anchor an undetermined number of transceivers -- whose exact spatial location is already known -- to the ocean floor, and then by comparing the angle and distance of broadband acoustic signals sent back and forth to moving craft, using some basic geometry (sounds like our man Pythagoras comes into play here) to determine where in the world that sub happens to be. Seems pretty obvious when you think about it, but maybe that's we're covering this tech secondhand instead of trying to hack it as naval engineers, marine cartographers, or whoever the heck it is that comes up with this stuff.[Via New Scientist]
Vivitar ViviCam 6200W handles underwater shooting
It was just about this time last year that Vivitar snuck out of the woodwork to unveil a few ho hum shooters at PMA 2006, and now the firm is making a literal splash with its 6200W at this year's event. Deemed one of the company's first offerings since the recent acquisition by Syntax-Brillian, the six-megapixel compact touts underwater shooting abilities (up to ten meters), a practically worthless 4x digital zoom, SD card support up to 1GB in capacity, 16MB of built-in storage, PictBridge support, and a two-inch color LTPS display. Wrapped in "rubber armor," this rugged beast should take the abusive conditions of YMCA pools and oceanside fun with ease, but considering there's a complete lack of a flash onboard, we'd suggest snapping your photos whilst barely submerged. While there doesn't look to be a hard release date set just yet, it should reportedly hit shelves for around $233 whenever it lands.[Via TGDaily]
FishCam gives anglers an edge, purists irate
No, underwater cameras used to see precisely what that about-to-be-caught bass are doing underwater aren't new, but we'd guess the argument suggesting that it ruins all fun in the sport has been going on ever since someone originally conjured the idea. Nevertheless, the FishCam does what several other devices on the market already do, and aside from giving you a proverbial cheat code to nab unlimited sea creatures, it also allows anglers to "store the images on a DVD," which should prove useful in adding a dash of truthfulness (or eliminate the fibs) to those "ones that got away" tales. As expected, traditionalists don't seem to appreciate the device all that much, and while novices could very well get a bit more line action using this device, it'll cost you a stiff £185 ($365) in order to do so.[Via Spluch, photo courtesy of Sun]
