Jan 25 2011
The Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences located in Kiel, Germany, has up until now operated the autonomous underwater vehicle ABYSS, the submersible JAGO and the remotely operated vehicle KIEL 6000 to explore the unknown depths of the ocean.
Towards the end of 2010, the PHOCA, a new deep sea remote operated vehicle was delivered to the institute. The medium sized robotic device, while adding to the institute’s research infrastructure, will help install and operate underwater observation posts called MoLab at depths of 3000 m.
It has been developed by Scotland-based-company Sub Atlantic and is a Comanche ROV and weighs about 1.5 ton. It is the second ROV acquired by the institute and has some features common with the earlier one. It has been selected because it is compatible with the earlier model KIEL 6000. The winches and umbilical cords on both ROVs can be used on either one, while the manipulators are also same in both. These common features saves time needed to train operators to use and maintain the device.
Its compact size also facilitates its use in the research vehicles owned and operated by the institute, such as the RV POSEIDON and RV ALKOR. Costing around 1.2 m euros, the complete unit is currently developed at the institute and produced in part by companies located in Schleswig-Holstein. MoLab signifies the institute’s endeavors to understand how the earth and ocean function. The new acquisition will help researchers and scientists install, reconstruct and maintain equipment fixed to the ocean bed.
Source: http://www.ifm-geomar.de/