Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 19)

Left: The U.S. Regional Cabled Ocean Observatory and the complementary NEPTUNE Canada program will be associated with the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, one of a dozen or so major plates that make up the surface of the earth. Fiber-optic cables will run from shore landings to experimental sites (orange dots) located in areas of highest scientiﬁc interest. The observatories will operate 24/7/365. Right: For the past 40 or so years, Delaney has dived into the ocean’s depths. Bottom: Conceptual representation of a seaﬂoor laboratory of the future on the regional cabled ocean observatory. A SPAC E C R AFT CA LLED E AR TH In order to have live high-deﬁnition television on the sea ﬂoor beamed back to land in an interactive format—which is what Delaney and his colleagues have set out to achieve with the Regional Cabled Observatory — the bandwidth has to be very high. To do it in stereo with complex, real-time robotic manipulators within the volcanoes themselves, there must be considerable power as well. “And electro-optical cables are the only way to achieve such a goal,” he says. This sort of remote capability to both see and interact with something very far away in real time was ﬁrst demonstrated on Sept. 7, 2001. “A woman in France had her gallbladder removed by some doctors in the New York area,” Delaney says. “But September 11th happened, and you didn’t read about the operation much. Nevertheless, it was a very signiﬁcant development.” Once Delaney discovered the potential of using electrical power and high-speed remote communications, he realized he didn’t need to be in a submarine 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to learn what he wanted to know about the ocean. “There could be cameras and robots and communications, and it could all be displayed on land, in many locations simultaneously, with the potential for immediate, interactive feedback,” Delaney says. The displays that Delaney speaks of have several applications. For one, because all the information can be hardwired into the Internet, anyone anywhere in the world will have the opportunity to view it on an Internet-linked com- puter and use it for research. “About two years ago, Bill Gates gave a talk about computing, and in his talk, he discussed how computers are changing how we do science, and how science beneﬁts,” Delaney says. “He had 25 slides in his talk, and 11 of them were about the Regional Cabled Observatory—he used the project as an example of why we need very powerful computers and the sophisticated software- middleware to operate these types of remote laboratories in the nottoo-distant future.” Because its capabilities are so far-reaching through the Internet, the Regional Cabled Observatory will be a wonderful tool for education, both of children and adults. Children will be able to learn more about the inter-workings of the ocean and the creatures that live there through live cameras and interactive games, spring 2008 19

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Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Alumni News Cover Story: In Galileo's Wake Technically Funny The Healing Game Looking for America The Last Word

Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008

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