RSE for MARUM
Schilling Robotics, LLC announced its selection by the MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Germany, to supply major subsystems from its Remote Systems Engine (RSE) for a new self-contained, remotely operated, deepwater drilling system called MeBo.
Currently in development, MeBo will be used in scientific research projects at depths up to 4000 meters, drilling holes or retrieving core samples up to 50 metres long, and performing in-situ measurements with sensor probes. The drill will be deployed from a research vessel and will be connected to the vessel with an umbilical cable containing power conductors and optical fibers. Sea trials are scheduled for April 2005.
Using MeBo, MARUM will be able to quickly retrieve long sediment cores and drill hard rocks in the deep-ocean environment. This research will provide valuable information on marine ore deposits, oceanic crust formation, methane storage in gas hydrates on continental slopes, deepwater coral reefs, and sedimentary climate change archives.
MeBo leverages components from Schilling Robotics’ RSE, a suite of simple, reliable, and powerful equipment and control software modules that can be used to perform generic remote systems functions. The RSE building blocks used in MeBo’s design and development include a device for distributing electrical power and signals, the cables and connectors for all instruments and devices, power converters, rotary actuators, video display equipment, and software modules.
