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Telepresence Technology

Use of telepresence technology for science, education and outreach on the new NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer



In 2008, NOAA will commission a ship of exploration, the Okeanos Explorer, the only Federal vessel dedicated to exploring our largely unknown ocean.  The ship is currently undergoing a phased conversion at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, WA.  NOAA shall outfit the Okeanos Explorer to conduct exploratory expeditions to unknown and poorly known ocean areas, serving three primary missions: 

  1. deep water (to 6,000 m) mapping,
  2. science class ROV operations, and
  3. real-time broadband satellite transmission of data.

Installation of a satellite system on the ship will allow shore-based access to data and information in real-time for scientific exploration and educational outreach purposes.

NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration & Research (OER) stands poised to initiate a major scientific and public outreach program using this new dedicated research vessel.  To do this, NOAA's OER will employ telepresence technology to allow "virtual" expedition management by scientists working from specially designed consoles located at Exploration Command Centers on shore.  Telepresence technology uses satellite technology and Internet2 to transmit data, including video, in real-time from remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) working at depth, to a shore-based University of Rhode Island hub, which then sends this data to Exploration Command Centers and other receiving stations on shore.

The consoles located at the Exploration Command Centers replicate the ROV control van system designed, built and operated by the Institute for Exploration (IFE) in Mystic, CT.  Currently, several versions of these consoles reside at:

  • University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO)
  • Institute for Exploration (IFE) in Mystic, CT
  • NOAA/University of New Hampshire (UNH) Center for Ocean and Coastal Mapping (CCOM) Joint Hydrographic Center
  • Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in Seattle
  • NOAA's Silver Spring, MD, facility

The consoles include three plasma screens for viewing video transmitted from the ship, as well as an Internet-enabled intercom system so participants can converse simultaneously with several individuals at sea, and/or personnel at other remote consoles on shore.  Based on several years of testing during telepresence-enabled expeditions, NOAA and IFE personnel now conduct assessments of the utility and future potential of these prototype consoles.  Next, they will alter current designs based on the results of these assessments and better defined user needs.  Console operating procedures and management protocols have reached the developmental stage, with a goal of  facilitating the Exploration Command Centers to conduct science, education and outreach from shore once the Okeanos Explorer comes on line in 2008.

The current vision for the operating tempo of the Okeanos Explorer includes a reconnaissance mode of operations.  In this mode, all capabilities such as mapping, towed sensor and photographic arrays, and potential ROV operations can capture an initial discovery.  Researchers can then modify the operating tempo accordingly once they locate something of interest.  Only after the identification of something of significance would 24-hour ROV operations ensue and warrant ramping up logistics and timing  to a higher level of operations.

By design, this new ocean exploration paradigm will operate with the majority of mission scientists ashore who, together with scientists and technicians at sea, will carry out a systematic, global program of ocean exploration linked in real time through this satellite and Internet-enabled technology.  Those connected on shore will include the scientific community, educators, the media and the general public.  Through participation in this new paradigm, NOAA and expedition partners will increasingly bring real-time excitement of ocean exploration into classrooms, to audiences in science centers, and indeed to anyone worldwide with Internet access, sharing the excitement of discovery through multiple pathways.

Additional development currently in the works for the future use of this satellite and Internet-enabled technology includes Web-based management transmission, and dissemination of data; providing access to live data streams from shore; and live streaming video on Internet1 for broad access to information in real time.