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HyBIS Hydraulic Benthic Instrument and Sampler
During recent sea trials aboard the National Oceanography Center Southampton, (NOCS), the RRS James Cook, a 300kg benthic lander failed to respond to al its acoustic release commands, leaving nearly $150,000 of scientific equipment on the seabed at a depth of 2000m. On the same trials a Hydro-Lek (the remote handling specialist) HyBIS was undertaking its first deep water deployment. The HyBIS (Hydraulic Benthic Instrument and Sampler), devised by Dr. Bramley Murton of NOCS, was designed and manufactured by Hydro-Lek. Its primary role is to take seabed samples at depths of up to 6000m. Although HyBIS was not originally conceived as a recovery vehicle, its onboard lights, cameras, thrusters and payload capability proved valuable. After a makeshift hook was fabricated, HyBIS was lowered to the seabed and the stricken lander was located. A rescue ensued and an hour later, both instruments were safely back on-board. HyBIS consists of two modular components. A "Command" module which is currently equipped with two color cameras (one pan and tilt), two positional thrusters and over 1000 watts of lights. A hydraulic power pack, full function telemetry via a fiber optic link and a total of 7 kW of electrical power complete the control systems. Sensors provide depth, heading, turns-counting and hydraulic pressure. The second, or "Tools" module, is independent from the Command module and can be separated by remote control, allowing the unit to be jettisoned or used for deploying payloads. This also allows for different T)ools modules to be attached, depending upon the application. The "Grabber" module comprises of a clam-shell grab that has the capacity to lift up to 0.3 cu. m. of seabed material and has a bite pressure which is equivalent to two tons. A significant benefit of HyBIS is that it makes use of a standard towed sonar cable, thus negating the need for a separate dedicated winch system. During seabed surveys this enables the efficiency of deploying towed sonar to identify potential sites, then replacing the sonar with
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HyBIS to locate the sample material with accuracy and precision, which is then retrieved for further analysis. Future "Tools" modules will include manipulator arm(s), a retractable sample tray, a ConductivityTemperature-Depth (CTD) recorder, chemical sensors, additional cameras, all powered from the existing Command module.
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Marine Technology Reporter 29
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