Almost Automation

So, it’s Saturday, and this is science, so no rest for the wicked (or for the well behaved either for that matter). Today we are planning on running a bigger AUV mission, out to do some transects across the Fjord to see what we can see. We’re hoping to run this same mission a few times, over midday and midnight so we can look for water column changes during the day/night cycle. But first we have to get out into the water.

Naturally, everyone’s pretty excited about the concept of the robots and as such we get a little bit of paparazzi action happening.

But we’re not going to let that get in the way of some good science! So, up first is testing that all the sensors and programs on the AUV are working ok, which includes testing the internal accelerometers within the machine. Doing that looks something like this:

Then there’s a bit of time where the adults stand around and do some talking and planning and quite a bit of joking around. Just to make sure we’re all on track.

One of the more photogenic elements is the adding of the strobe and the glow stick to the AUV. This is so that we can watch it as it heads out and can also more easily find it when it resurfaces. I was quite amazed at how strong the glow remains even in such cold conditions.

And today we’re going to be sending a few people out in the boat to track where the AUV is going and how it is progressing, so that if there are any problems we can rapidly abort the mission and rescue the machine. This is just going to be a first day thing, to make sure that nothing weird happens like the AUV suddenly deciding to head off on a tropical holiday or something. For all those people worried about robots taking over the world, trust me, they are a long long long way from being anywhere near organised enough to do that!

But part of going out on the boat means getting kitted up in the sexy survival suits, which is always fun, although can be incredibly cold. 

And we had a few technical issues, so there was quite a bit of wandering around and waiting and trying to work out the flash on my phone to try and take some photos of wandering and waiting. 

And then I got sent off to get some petrol! There's a gas station in the Arctic, for cool trivia you can now take to the pub. This is what an arctic gas station looks like, jerry cans and snow mobiles.

And finally our little AUV headed out into the wilderness all by itself! It was a bit of a stressful time because the battery freaked out quite a lot in the cold, as most batteries do. But it came home safe and sound in the end :)

In other groups news group 1 has successfully put all their sensors into the cage that you see below and they will be lowering it off the boat so that they can test different parts of the water column. Apparently they have been having quite a few problems with their batteries running out too quickly, so it will be interesting to see how they solve that problem

Additionally I thought you might like to have a look at the wet room in the basement where we have been working. This is where all our boots are stored, but also where all the dive equiptment lives and dries. It never ceases to amaze me that there are people who will happily go out diving in the Arctic night!

And last but not least, it was a beautiful sunrise today!