A towed deep-sea exploration vehicle developed by National Sun Yat-sen University’s College of Marine Sciences has successfully transmitted high-resolution images from the ocean floor at depths of up to 2.63km, the university said.
The Abyss Twisted-pair Imaging System (ATIS) was built by the university to search for gas hydrate deposits off the coast of Taiwan, the university said, adding that its 200-megapixel camera gives researchers an unprecedented level of detail when surveying the ocean floor.
The name was derived from a pair of twisted cables used by a research vessel to tow ATIS, the university said.
Photo courtesy of National Sun Yat-sen University’s College of Marine Sciences
ATIS has a variety of equipment, including a camera, a scale and sonar, the university said, adding that its successor, V-Corer, also has a device to test materials it encounters.
Researchers aboard the vessel can observe findings from ATIS and V-Corer in real time and send instructions through a computer link, it said.
The system’s critical components and control systems were developed in Taiwan, college dean Wang Chao-chang (王兆璋) said, adding that their development can free Taiwanese marine researchers from a reliance on expensive foreign technology.
In the past, Taiwanese researchers relied on cooperation from foreign organizations that did not allow access to core technologies, making repair and upgrades difficult, he said.
The development team will continue its research, with the aim of developing a self-propelled vehicle that can expand the scope and efficiency of deep-sea exploration, Wang said.
It made sense to develop domestic marine survey technology, given the nation’s experience in semiconductor and optics research and production, the university said.
The successful development of ATIS led to the creation of V-Corer, which added four drills for the collection and analysis of core samples, the university said.
V-Corer sends data to the research vessel via a 3 megabit per second data link over a twisted pair or coaxial cable that can extend up to 8km, it said.
The team recently completed development of FITS, a variant of V-Corer that uses a fiber-optic cable to transfer data and is powered by a wired power supply, instead of the batteries used by V-Corer and ATIS, the university said.
Fiber optics allow for significantly faster data transmission and larger data samples, allowing for the simultaneous comparison of several samples, while the wired power supply allows researchers greater freedom, as they do not need to worry about power failure, the university said.
The development team is expected to receive patents this year for the development of a long-distance high-speed transmission and control system, the university added.
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