ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 12, 1996 TAG: 9604120079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: GLOUCESTER POINT
SOURCE: JAMES SCHULTZ LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
MARK PATTERSON hopes his creation will send marine science where no human has gone before.
Mark Patterson's dream took shape first in his basement, then on his kitchen table and finally in a rented condo near the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. A longtime family friend became the chief engineer and an equal partner. Patterson used his own money and funds from his wife, and maxed out the family credit cards.
And so what if he wrecked the on-board computer five times?
After all, the robotic minisubmarine that Patterson and collaborator James Sias created could revolutionize the study of coastal areas along the world's oceans. Not to mention participation in search-and-recovery missions, harbor surveillance, inspection of hazardous materials and oil pipelines, and the occasional drug bust.
Last week, Patterson, an associate marine science professor at the College of William and Mary, unveiled the sub before an audience of mostly marine institute students and faculty. The vehicle, which carries the trademarked name Fetch!, sat temporarily beached in the main VIMS auditorium as Patterson explained its genesis and workings.
Patterson said he and Sias have formed the first American company dedicated to aquatic robot commercialization.
``We've shocked the folks who have been working on [robotic subs] for years,'' Patterson said. ``I love being an academic. I don't want to leave my job at William and Mary. But I do want to get this technology going.''
To power up their venture, Patterson and Sias will need the backing of a well-heeled customer willing to spend roughly $130,000 for a production model.
Thus far, the partners have produced but one prototype. Their firstborn will remain in placid Chesapeake Bay waters, not braving the sometimes turbulent Atlantic.
``I want to use [Fetch!] in my own research. But I can't risk the prototype,'' Patterson said. ``If I lost it, my partner would throttle me and my wife would divorce me. What I need to do is get a grant.''
Oceanographers have long yearned for what scientists call Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, or AUVs. A number of programs are under way, in this country and abroad, to make such robot subs a reality. Their collective aim is to drastically reduce the cost of ocean study, monitoring and exploration.
On-board robotic sub cameras and computers could transmit a steady stream of information and images directly to researchers on shore. The craft could estimate the size and follow the feeding habits of schools of fish, for example, putter alongside whales during their migrations, sniff out toxic man-made chemicals leaking into the seas, or monitor ocean changes that directly affect weather and climate.
Fetch! also is designed to be modular, to come apart easily or be assembled in 40-pound-plus sections. ``Our main design goal was to put this whole thing together while seasick on a pitching boat,'' Patterson said.
Perhaps Patterson's optimism about Fetch's future can best be summed up by twin white, orange and black stickers placed near the nose cone of the minisub. Someday, as dozens, maybe hundreds of Fetches ply areas off the East Coast, one may be netted by a fisherman or spotted by a beachcomber.
``$500 reward,'' the sticker reads, ``for unopened return.''
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. The Fetch! robotic submarine was financed withby CNBWilliam and Mary professor Mark Patterson's own cash and credit
cards. color.