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Remote-controlled Aquabotix HydroView takes underwater HD video, Mrs. Puff calls insurance agent
Using an iPad to control your music system? Been there, done that. Using an iPad to control a submersible that also records underwater video in 1080p? Oh, the possibilities. Aquabotix is giving Jacques Cousteau wannabes the ability to shoot the watery depths all the way down to 150 feet as its underwater doohickey -- the HydroView -- officially goes on sale. Measuring 14.6 x 19 x 7 inches and weighing nine pounds, the submersible comes with LED lights, a three-hour battery and a top-side box that connects with a cable tether. The box also allows users to communicate with the HydroView via an iPad, Mac or PC. Besides getting video proof of, say, which swimmers ate too many bean burritos for lunch, the submersible can also take pictures and gather data about water conditions. Top speed for the submersible is five knots -- one knot when going in reverse. Just make sure you don't channel your inner SpongeBob while remotely driving the thing. Although it's not in the same league as Rinspeed's submersible Elise, the HydroView still doesn't come cheap at $3,995 a pop. Check out the official PR and, uh, low-def video of the diminutive diver in action after the break.
MIT software optimizes paths for automated undersea vehicles (video)
So, there's good news and bad news. The former is that MIT researchers have developed new software and methods that can predict optimal paths for automated underwater vehicles. The latter is that it's meant to be used for "swarms" of them, "moving all at once toward separate destinations." We hate to be the folks that keep harping on the inevitable, but teaching "swarms" of undersea robots how to effectively draw paths to the very creators that made them makes us... well, less that cozy. Paranoia aside, the Pierre Lermusiaux-led team has concocted a system that can provide paths optimized either for the shortest travel time or for the minimum use of energy, or to maximize the collection of data that is considered most important. The goal? To make the lives of gliders more efficient when engaged in "mapping and oceanographic research, military reconnaissance and harbor protection, or for deep-sea oil-well maintenance and emergency response." Oh, and did we mention that it can incorporate obstacle-avoidance functions for the sake of protection. Yeah. Death from above below.
Triton 36,000 submarine to plumb ocean's deepest depths, comes in yellow (video)
Richard Branson's not the only one eager to explore that other 70 percent of the world. Triton Submarines has designed a three-passenger sub able to dive 36,000 feet, reaching the deepest part of the world's oceans. And while Sir Richard envisions a spaceship-like craft, Triton's design evokes old school bathyspheres: it's a glass globe. Of course, water pressure poses a serious engineering challenge when you descend seven miles below the surface -- the last manned sub to reach that depth had only a single, small window made of plexiglass. The current design uses borosilicate glass (like those transparent displays we, um, saw through a while back) that actually grows stronger as depth pressure increases; it took eight months of careful heating and cooling to produce. Assuming the glass holds, it will take about 75 minutes to reach the bottom of the ocean. Anyone considering a test run should check out the PR video after the break, showing Triton's other submarines in action.
Virgin goes underwater with Necker Nymph aero submarine
Cor blimey! Sir Richard Branson sure is ambitious. Just when you thought conquering the final frontier was all that the Virgin empire was fixated upon, today it announces a new product for its Limited Edition retreats on Planet Earth -- the Necker Nymph aero submarine. As the 'aero' part implies, the vehicle relies on "downward 'lift' on the wings" to counteract its positive buoyancy during its two-hour dives, which probably means it can't remain stationary underwater while you grab nearby weeds or whatnot in those open cockpits. Still, given the chance, we suspect any mere mortal would be up for a spin if beached on Necker Island -- 'course, coming up with the $25,000 per week lease rate may prove to be an insurmountable task.
