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ARTICLE
RUNNINGARESEARCHCRUISEFROM
SHORE
TelepresenceTechnology
Telepresence,inthiscontext,refersto
thesuiteoftechnologiesand
operationalmethodologiesrequiredto
allowkeymissionpersonneltobe
locatedonshorewhileconducting
ship-basedoceanographicresearch
andexploration.Thetechnology
requiredtosupporttelepresence
largelyconsistsofahigh-powered
satellite-trackingantenna,advanced
networkinginfrastructure,video/audio
broadcastequipmentandasuiteof
softwaretoolsfordatasharingacross
thesatellitenetwork.Thisarticle
attemptstoexplainthenutsandbolts
ofship-to-shoretelepresence
systems.
Asarule,exploringtheunknown
oceancannotbeaccomplished
effectivelybyasmallgroupof
scientistsandengineersonboardships.Theymustrelyonthetelepresence
connectiontoengagewithothershore-basedparticipantstomakecritical
decisionsduringtheROVdivesaboutwheretoexplore,whatfeaturestoinspect
inmoredetail,whatsamplestocollectandtologobservationsabouttheseafloor
andwatercolumn,includingdescriptionsofthegeological,biologicaland
archaeologicalcharacterofthesite.TheOceanExplorationTrust’sE/VNautilus
andtheNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration’sShipOkeanos
Explorerconducttelepresence-enabledsystematicoceanexploration(Figure1).
TheInnerSpaceCenter(ISC)attheUniversityofRhodeIslandGraduateSchoolof
Oceanographyistheshore-basedhubfortelepresencewherescientistsand
studentscanworkandstandwatchduringthelivedives,interactingwiththe
teamsonboardtomakeexplorationmoreefficient(Figure2).TheISC’sserversalsorecordanddistributethelivevideofeeds
totheInternetsothatremotecruiseparticipantslocatedanywherecanalsotakepartinreal-time.TheISChasafullvideo
productionstudioandbroadcastfacility(Figure3)thatsupportsliveeducationalprogrammedeliverytoschoolsandinformal
scienceeducationalvenuessuchasmuseumsandaquariumsaspartofabroadoutreachprogramme.
Duringrecentyears,theinfrastructurerequiredtosupportthistelepresenceparadigmhasevolvedtobecometechnically
robustandthemethodologieshavebecomerelativelystraightforward.Becauseofthis,researcherswhoconductseagoing
projectsonotherships,suchasthoseintheUniversity-NationalOceanographicLaboratorySystem(UNOLS)fleet,caneasily
incorporateatelepresencecomponenttotheirresearchandeducationaloutreach.Mostresearchshipshavesomesortof
satellitetrackingantennaandaship-to-shorenetworkinfrastructurethatcanbeenhancedtosupportatelepresence
operation.Bysimplyprocuringadditionalsatellitebandwidth,addingsomeenhancedcomponentstotheship’ssatellite
networkandaddingatechnicalsystemforliveaudio/videostreaming,thistelepresencecomponentcanbeachieved.
Amobiletelepresenceunit(MTU,Figure4)canbeusedtodeliverthelivefeedsandfacilitatevoicecommunication.The
devicesthatmakeupthistechnologycanincludeencoders,voice-over-IPintercompanels,videoconferencingsystems,audio
mixers,videoswitches,networkswitches,anddevicesforvideoeffectslikequad-splitters,framesynchronisersandscan
converters.Thisgearismore-or-lessstandardinthebroadcastindustryandisneededtoprovideaqualityexperienceforthe
endusersashoretoeffectivelycommunicatewiththeteamonboard.AsimpleMTUsystemcanrangeincostfromabouta
fewthousandtoseveral10’softhousandsofdollars.Theshipboardtelepresencesystemscanintegrateintotheship’s
networkinginfrastructure,integratewiththeship’svideosurveillancesystems,integratewiththeship’svoicecommunication
systemsandbecompatiblewiththeshore-basedinfrastructure.Occasionally,dependingonthenetworkdesign,aVPNor
GREtunnelmayberequiredtofacilitateeffectiveequipmentconfigurationsanddevicecommunication.
Forexample,aUNOLSshipownedbytheNationalScienceFoundationandoperatedbytheUniversityofRhodeIsland
GraduateSchoolofOceanography,theR/VEndeavor,wasrecentlyequippedwithtelepresencetechnology.Thetechnology
allowedashore-basedchiefscientist,whowasnotmedicallycleared,tosailonthecruisetoconducthercruiseonschedule.
Workingwithanautonomousunderwatervehicle(AUV),aglider,awire-walkingprofilinginstrument,andaCTDtoaccomplish
theresearchgoalsofthecruise,Dr.MelissaOmandledtheteamonboardbycommunicatingconstantlythroughthe
telepresencesystem,assistingwithdataanalysis,andprovidingremotetechnicalsupportondeckandinthemainlab.
SeveralcruiseparticipantsusedvideocamerasandmicrophonestoconnectliveandsupportDr.Omand’sremote
participation(Figure5).TheISCservedastheprimaryshore-basedhubforconductingthecruiseoperation,andlivevideo
streamstotheInternetallowedotherremotescientiststoparticipateorallowedforDr.Omand’sparticipationfromherhome.
Satellitebandwidthcanbeexpensive,dependingonthedatesanddurationofthecruise,thegeographiclocation,andthe
minimumbandwidthrequired.Satelliteserviceprovidersrequirea’linkbudget’tobecomputedthatfactorsinthetechnical
capabilitiesoftheshipboardtrackingantenna(suchasthediameterofthereflectorandpoweroftheamplifier)andatthe
terrestrialearthstationteleport.Onceallthesedetailsareknown,providerscandevelopbudgetaryquotesfortheship-toshoreInternetservice.Dependingonthetechnicaldetails,monthlycostscanbeanywherefromUSD5,000toUSD50,000per
monthforuploadbandwidthintherangeof1.5–20Mbps,withsmallerreturn(download)bandwidth.Traditionally,ISC
supportedtelepresencecruiseshavereliedonC-bandorKu-bandsatelliteservice.RecentadvancesinKa-bandcapable
satelliteswillpotentiallyallowformuchgreaterbandwidth.Thetransmissiondelayforlivevideoandaudiotobereceived
onshoreisonlybetween1-2seconds,typically,dependingonthelocations,allowingforeffectivecommunication.Withthe
capabilitiesofInternet2andmulticast-enabledterrestrialnetworks,thelivevideo/audiostreamscanbegloballydistributedin
nearreal-time,makingitpossibletosupportthecommunicationbetweentheshipboardpersonnelandanyoneintheworld.
Thetotalcostforaddedsatellitebandwidthforaone-monthcruise,combinedwiththecostforsomeextratechnical
personnelonboardandashore,alongwiththecostfortheextraship-andshore-basedinfrastructurestillamountstoless
thanUSD100,000forthedurationofatypicalcruise,whichisequivalenttothecostofabout2shipdays.Telepresencecan
increasetheefficiencyofthecruisebyallowingmoreuserstoparticipate,increasethebroaderimpactsoftheprojectby
havingscientistsandeducatorsengagewithvastaudiences,andallowforshore-basedteamstocommunicate,troubleshoot,
processdata,increaseawareness,buildawebpresence,andeducatestudentsinreal-time.Theseefficienciesgreatly
outweighthecost.
Bycombiningtheadvancesinsatellitetelecommunications,Internet2andmulticast-enablednetworksandencoded
video/audiostreamingtechnology,thetelepresenceparadigmhasbeenproveneffectiveandisincrediblypowerfuland
robust.Insteadofthetraditionalwayoceanographersandtechnicianshaveconductedtheirseagoingbusinessinthepast,
withsciencepartiesofafewdozenpeople,telepresencecannowallowforinfiniteexpansion,broadeningtheparticipation
globallytoallpopulations.AsprovenbytheNautilusprogramme(www.nautiluslive.org)andtheOkeanosExplorer
programme(www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov),telepresencehasallowedforliveROVdivestobeviewedbyusuallyhundreds
andoccasionallythousandsofpeopleatatime.Newdiscoveriesontheseafloorandscientificallyinterestingandengaging
videocontentofgeologically,biologicallyandarchaeologicallysignificantsiteshasbeenkeytoexcitingnewgenerationsof
oceanexplorers.ThroughthesewebsitesandthroughthevideobroadcaststudiosattheISC,learnersofallagescan
contributetothelivediscussions,askquestionsandgetliveanswersabouttheongoingresearch.Telepresencecanenable
cruiseparticipationbyanyone,includingthosepeoplewhoarenotphysicallyabletogotosea.Andtelepresencecanenable
technicaltroubleshootingofequipment,allowforcommunicationbetweenusersonboardandvendorsashore,andhelp
facilitatethetechnicalsuccessofseagoingexpeditionstoremoteplacesthatwouldotherwisebeinaccessible.
MoreInformation
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Coleman,D.F.,J.A.Austin,Jr.,Z.Ben-Avraham,andR.D.Ballard.ExploringtheContinentalMarginofIsrael:
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Coleman,D.F.,andA.Doyle.TelepresenceGuidanceforScientistsandShipOperators.2015.Awhitepaperpostedon
theUNOLSwebsitewww.unols.org.
Videosandcontentonthefollowingwebsites:
innerspacecenter.org,
oceanexplorer.noaa.govand
nautiluslive.org
https://www.hydro-international.com/content/article/telepresence-technology