RoboGuy
02-08-2008, 02:53 PM
The popular media is full of hype and conspiracy theories about thecauses of the recent submarine telecom cable outages. What reallyhappened? Undersea robots are seeking the answer. FLAGTelecom reports that the February 1 Falcon cable cut between Dubaiand Ai Seeb was caused by a ship's anchor. The abandoned anchor, weighingover 5 tons, was even found at the site of the break. An ROV is nowinspecting the January 30 cable cut near Alexandra, Egypt. To find thecut, the robot has to travel along the length of the cable until a breakis found. Once the break is found, the robot assists in the repair bycutting out the damaged section and retrieving the severed ends of thecable for repair aboard a ship. A BBC articlehas details the location and technology of the undersea cables. FLAGTelecom relies on a number of ROVs including the PacificScarab, Triton ST200 and Nerus II. Because of the potential revenueloss caused by this type of disruption, companies that manage underseacables are turning to more advanced types of undersea robots includingUnmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles(AUVs) that may be able to speed repairs and maintenance.
More... (http://robots.net/article/2464.html)
More... (http://robots.net/article/2464.html)