The control room stations from L to R: Co-pilot, Pilot, Science, Annotation, and Navigation. Click image for larger view and image credit.
Behind the Technology
February 2, 2006
Lisa Borok
Web Coordinator
MBARI
Every morning and evening, a small cluster of us gather to watch the careful choreography of the Western Flyer crew as they deploy and retrieve the ROV Tiburon through a door in the floor of the ship. None of us seem to get tired of looking at this ballet of hardware and human skill. But that's just the beginning. After observing for the past few days what goes into piloting this Volkswagen-sized sub, I've developed a real appreciation for the teamwork and skill that go into working with this technology.
ROV pilot Bryan Schaefer used a heat gun during repairs to an electrical cable in the hydraulic system. Click image for larger view and image credit.
Just walking into the Control Room gives you an idea that this is tricky stuff. Located in the port aft section (that's the rear, left side) of the ship, the Control Room houses all of the electronics to operate the ROV. Five chairs, each with a microphone headset, are fixed to the floor in front of an eight-foot wall of electronics. Twenty-three monitors and plasma screens flash with vital information. It's not unlike the space center controlling the Mars rovers. The similarity isn't just coincidence. Going deep requires some of the same technology and teamwork as going into space. Both are unforgiving environments that are extremely hard on gear. Make a big mistake and millions of dollars of technology are swept away into the darkness.
Tiburon's pilots aren't prone to big mistakes though. In 10 years of operation, they've set a high standard for completing missions and keeping the ROV in working order. Each morning, Tiburon is ready to go and is fitted with that day's instruments.
During morning launch, the dance commences and Tiburon is lowered via two cranes through the moonpool doors in the floor. The Western Flyer rides on two enormous pontoons that keep the deck of the ship 3 meters (9 feet) above the churning sea surface. After the ROV splashes down, one of the pilots in the launch bay uses the instrument pack strapped to his waist to fly the craft down to about 100 meters (300+ feet) below the ship. At that depth it's safe to maneuver the ROV to its destination.
A crane releases the Tiburon through the moonpool doors in the launch bay floor. Once free of the crane wire, the yellow umbilical cord (at the rear of the ROV) sends and receives electronic and fiber-optic signals throughout the dive. Click image for larger view and image credit.
Once the ROV is clear from the ship, the crew in the Control Room takes over from the moonpool team. Scanning the operations from left to right across the five stations, I watch the co-pilot, pilot, science lead, annotator, and navigator swing into the quiet, coordinated action that will continue for the next ten to twelve hours.
The co-pilot stays quite busy observing six different screens and tending several systems at once, including the manipulator arm on the ROV. The pilot's station is deceptively quiet looking. With five plasma screens and computer monitors before him, the pilot's main duty is to safely fly the ROV over the seafloor, around walls and outcrops, up and back to points of scientific interest, or straight and level over many meters of transect lines. While keeping the craft on task, the pilot also controls the hydraulic sample drawer, runs the piloting camera and lights, and maintains the delicate balance of distance and direction between the ROV and the ship. The pilot also lines up the still camera to take photos that science party may want during the dive. It's the pilot who communicates navigation needs to the ship's bridge crew.
The researcher at the science station conducts the overall mission of the ROV for the day. It is the chief scientist who directs timing and location of collections. They determine the ROV's course and when to pause to look around, zoom in for closer inspection, or run through a transect. The science station has the responsibility of operating the High Definition video camera.
Huff McGonigal takes his turn in the science chair. The large plasma screen in front of him displays the HD video from the ROV. Click image for larger view and image credit.
One of the critical but less glamorous stations in the room is the annotation seat. All dives are videotaped from the time the ROV enters the water to the time it's back on deck. At this station, a science crew member uses a sophisticated database to enter all the highlights of the dive. They can also grab still-images off the video. These notes and images are synched with the time code on the videotape, so we can easily review certain events or views after the dive. This and the data from the ROV are merged to provide a knowledgebase that researchers can ìmineî later on.
Finally, in the far corner of the Control Room sits the navigator in front of one computer monitor. As you read in Chad's log a few days ago, his role is to provide compass bearings for the pilot and plot tracklines, or routes, for the ROV to fly along.
This teamwork goes on year-round on the Western Flyer and other oceanographic ships around the world. Our Davidson expedition will be complete in a few more days, but I will come away with a great respect for the comradery and skill involved in ROV-based research.
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