Word: robots
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...chandeliers perfectly intact; stalactites of rust hanging from ceilings and dripping down walls; the grand staircase, minus the stairs; the ship's wheel, the wood eaten away but the brass fittings gleaming like new. These were some of the eerie images that emerged last week as a camera- equipped robot wandered through the Titanic, the first visitor to enter the "unsinkable" ship since an iceberg sent her and more than 1,500 of the 2,200 passengers to the bottom of the sea on her maiden voyage in April 1912. "It was a breathtaking experience," says Marine Geologist Robert Ballard...
...real excitement came the following day. On Alvin's third dive, the scientists deployed "Jason Jr.," a self-propelled, lawn-mower-size robot armed with still and video cameras. Guided by Bowen, the robot -- nicknamed "J.J." -- made oceanographic history by actually entering the Titanic. It glided down the ship's grand staircase at the end of a 250-ft. tether through which it transmitted live images to the three scientists in Alvin's cramped cabin. There was nothing left of the staircase itself; like much of the Titanic's celebrated woodwork, it had long since been devoured by wood-boring...
...week progressed, J.J. continued to perform spectacularly. It followed the mast up to the crow's nest and found an undamaged brass mast light. The robot looked into the windows of the officers' quarters and propelled itself through the first-class entranceway to glimpse the ship's gymnasium. It went over the side and made an unsuccessful attempt to squeeze through portholes on the promenade deck. Said Ballard: "He has to go on a diet." There was an anxious moment as J.J.'s tether caught on a jagged piece of metal, but Bowen maneuvered the robot back and forth until...
...researchers cancelled plans to send Jason Jr., a camera-equipped robot inside, fearing that the stern's mangled opening would have snared the remote unit's electrical tether. "Too spooky," Ballard replied when asked how difficult conditions were...
...team from the Oceanographic Institution had spent a week touring the forward section of the ship in the three-man submarine, directing a remote-controlled robot into areas of the ship where intact crystal chandeliers were spotted, swaying gently in a light underwater current...