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Communicating with submarines under the surface of the water has always been tricky. How do you stay in contact without having to surface? The Navy believes that a form of text messaging may be the answer.
Those coolhunters over at Oobject have uncovered another gem of engineering: the floating crane. Because the cranes require a massive superstructure and a relatively shallow hull, designers have to approach them pretty much the opposite way they approach typical ship design. They weigh many thousands of tons, and yet somehow manage to lift thousands of tons, too—engineering that truly borders on magic. There are two more insane crane shots below; feel free to hit up Oobject for all the crane porn you'll ever need. [Oobject]
A Swiss company called BKW has launched 'Project Goldfish', with the goal of developing a solar-powered submarine for civilian use by 2012. The vessel would generate continuous power via the monstrous floating island / solar array pictured above. The sub itself would be tethered to the array, allowing it to stay underwater indefinitely. Sound pointless? Well, it certainly would be if your are trying to travel undetected. I suppose it could have applications on sightseeing or exploratory missions, but the whole idea of travelling in a tiny underwater tomb is daunting enough without knowing that the only thing separating you from a gruesome death at the hands of Davy Jones are solar panels and some flimsy cables.
Apparently our polite neighbours to the north, the Canadians, are going to use two underwater robots to bolster their claims over the Arctic in 2010. These twin $US4 million Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (not T-1000's, lame), are being constructed by the very un-Cyberdyne sounding International Submarine Engineering to scout out and claim potential drilling locations in the cold north. The ice cold Arctic, as you may know, is a hotly contested territory for the Canadians, Russians, Norwegians, Danes, and United States. Sadly, there are no frickin' laser beams. Which is too bad, because we're positive Putin armed his Russian robot submersibles to the teeth. At the very least, they'll have GPS.
If bath time's gotten boring for you recently, why not try reenacting the Cold War in your tub? Here's a submersible radio-controlled replica of the USS Seawolf SSN-21 submarine, with a funny little periscope themed remote thrown in for good measure. The real Seawolf was commissioned in 1989 as a response to the Soviet Akula class of submarines. No word on whether RC-versions of those are out there somewhere. Available at Brando for $US55. [Brando via Geek Alerts]
DARPA is pumping money into developing a submersible aircraft: a vehicle that can fly in the air and dive straight into the water, becoming a submarine. Badass!
Russian billionaire and Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich is building a $US400 million mega-yacht. Yawn, you say? You have two? OK, well, this yacht has its own submarine. And armour plating with bulletproof glass. And little boats that fit inside the bigger boat. And a frickin' missile defence system that will alert he and his crew of 70 former SAS soldiers that there be pirates in those waters. It should be noted that Abramovich's other yachts—the 377ft Pelorus, 282ft Ecstasea and 160ft Sussurro—all pale in comparison to the 550ft Eclipse, and do not include missile detection systems. You can never be too safe, right?
Unbeknownst to most of the world, the late super rich adventurer Steve Fossett had started work on an amazing flying submersible that would one day theoretically touch the stars. More importantly, however, was that the design would have allowed adventurers and scientists alike (and most importantly Fossett himself, of course) to venture into the deadly depths of the Mariana Trench, some 36,000 feet below the ocean's surface. Sadly, the design was put on hold immediately after Fossett went missing about one year ago, but that hasn't stopped San Anselmo inventor Graham Hawkes from detailing the project that Fossett tapped him to create two years before his death.
The NY Times has a piece today about the monumental task of forging a pressure hull out of raw titanium to be used in the replacement for the legendary Alvin, the Navy's only currently operational deep-sea scientific sub that first explored the wreckage of the Titanic. Where Alvin could dive 3.9km down, its successor can go up to 6.4km under (hence the serious forging above), which will open up 99% of the ocean floor for exploration. That's a pretty big deal.
I can't say that the Matrix Unplugged Chair looks very comfortable, but it certainly does look badass. That's because it's made from the torpedo-lifting jaws of a nuclear submarine. That's right: the parts that used to handle delicate explosive torpedoes will now be handling your delicate ass.
