Finally In the Water!

We were finally able to get the robot (called SCINI) in the ocean yesterday! We made the dive under the sea ice in front of the station in a dive hut also used for tagging seals and got there in a Mattrack:



This is the hut in which we made the dive:



The hut has a hole in the floor over an existing hole in the ice, but the hole had partially refrozen and had a layer of ice about 12″ thick. Our first task was was to cut a hole in the ice big enough for SCINI to fit through. First, we drilled a series of small holes in a circle:



Next, we chopped out the ice between the small holes to break the big piece loose:


Finally, we had a hole big enough for SCINI. We finished the preparation by using a net to clear away the slush and small pieces of ice floating in the hole.

Next, we readied SCINI and its support equipment for the dive. Besides the robot and its tether, SCINI requires two laptops (one for piloting and control, one for recording science imagery), an uninterruptible power supply, and a small Honda generator. Here is SCINI just before the dive:

When we got SCINI in the hole and started swimming downwards, it seemed to get stuck about 15 feet down. After looking through SCINI’s camera imagery, we determined that the bottom of the ice hole had frozen over also. After pulling SCINI out and using a pry bar to break this second layer of ice, SCINI was finally able to get into the open ocean.

After flying for a bit, we noticed a handful of problems including an inoperative depth sensor and thruster controls which were too sensitive. These problems won’t be too hard to fix though. As SCINI was flying towards another hole in the ice, we caught a glimpse of a Weddell seal diving into the water near the hole. Here is one of SCINI’s early pictures:

To get a better idea of SCINI's maneuverability in the water, here is a video of a flight in a test tank: