SECT. 5] 



DEEP SUBMERSIBLES FOR OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH 



511 



gasoline because of its low compressibility and non-flammability. The single 

 manned compartment, placed forward, is a 9-ft sphere of die steel ; the hull is 

 of titanium. The main buoyancy tanks are sealed off from water but are 

 sufficiently compressible to equalize the pressure of the ammonia solution with 

 the ambient sea-water pressure. A 40-h.p. d.c. motor will make possible a top 

 speed of 6 knots. Silver-cadmium batteries will permit 100-mile cruises at 

 3 knots. The plan is to conduct cruises as long as 48 h duration. Capable of 

 descending to 36,000 ft, the D.R.V. will be without depth limitation in the 

 oceans of the world. With its large hydrophone, storage bins, laboratory pit, 



Telescoping sea hatch 



Hydrophone 



Motor 

 Rotary converter \ 



Fig. 8. Tentative design as currently conceived of the D.R.V. (Deep -Research Vessel). 



manipulator, etc., the D.R.V. would have scientific as well as cruising range 

 that the present bathyscaphs lack. 



7. Remote Underwater Manipulator (RUM) 



Thus far we have considered only manned craft ; unmanned vehicles may 

 serve a vital function in future deep-sea oceanography. The RUM (Fig. 9) is a 

 robot undersea crawler conceived by V. Anderson of Scripps Institution of 

 Oceanography and constructed under the sponsorship of the Office of Naval 

 Research. The prototype, completed in 1960, has a tank chassis modified for 

 underwater mobility. It is equipped with a prehensile arm, four underwater 

 television cameras, and a special sonar for guidance. It is contemplated that 

 this robot will be capable of performing a wide variety of oceanographic 

 missions such as the installation and maintenance of heavy bottom-mounted 

 instruments at depths of up to 20,000 ft. 



The robot tank draws its power through a lightweight coaxial cable which is 

 connected with a mobile generator on shore. This cable also carries the tele- 

 vision signals, thus enabling the remote observer to exercise control over the 

 craft during operation. A large reel is mounted atop the vehicle permitting 5 

 miles of scope ; using 15 h.p., RUM is capable of maintaining a speed of 3 mph 

 on firm level bottom ; it can climb a 60% grade and surmount obstacles as high 



