NEWTSUB Deepworker 2000

As our planet's population increases, the availability of raw materials dwindles and we are forced to look further and further afield to satisfy the world's needs. Exploration for oil, in particular, has moved into the deep oceans and, in many instances, has gone beyond the depths where divers can work safely or economically.

Over the past twenty years or so, technology has come forward with the development of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), tethered to the surface by an umbilical cable and capable of working at great depths while allowing the operator to remain safely on the surface. They are a marvellous development and have some very useful applications but there are also some serious drawbacks to this system. The field of vision and visual acuity offered by the on board cameras is not always good and there is no peripheral vision. The operator doesn't get any audio feedback from the vehicle and cannot get any sense or 'feel' of the vehicle in it's environment. And then there is the umbilical problem or the length/size/drag/power nightmare. As ROVs are required to go deeper, they need longer umbilicals to power them. The longer umbilical creates more drag and so requires more power to pull it through the water which requires a larger ROV which in turn would require a larger umbilical. A three inch diameter umbilical 3000 feet long has an area of nearly 3000 sq. ft.about the same as the floor area of a good sized house and it takes an enormous amount of power to pull this through a medium several times denser than air. And the problem doesn't end there. If the umbilical is used to lift the ROV from the water it will have to be armoured which adds considerably to the weight. And the ROV will not work well when dragging thousands of feet of umbilical across a muddy bottom so buoyancy must be added which again increases drag, requiring more power, requiring a bigger ROV which requires a bigger umbilical. And so on.

The Deepworker 2000 is lowered into the water in Burrard inlet during a demonstration for Vancouver press.

At present, one of the most efficient solutions is to use manned submersibles, known as DOVs or Directly Operated Vehicles. The Newtsub Deep Worker 2000 is the latest dream of Dr. Phil Nuytten and a team of designers at Nuytco, a Vancouver company that has a great deal of experience with submersible design and has achieved a successful track record with proven designs such as Deep Rover, WASP and the Newt Suit. After climbing from his newest creation, following one of it's initial dives, Dr. Nuytten said "It's like driving an underwater MG." And it looks a little like the sports car version of a submersible.

The single seat Deep Worker 2000 is an untethered, one atmosphere submersible with a maximum depth rating of 2000 feet. It is compact but there is adequate room for the pilot within a 36 inch diameter sphere fitted with a cylindrical extension to accommodate the pilot's legs. Space is about equal to that provided by a first-class airplane seat and the view is excellent, thanks to the 26 inch acrylic dome. Deep Worker 2000 is powered by ten, high ampere, deep cycle batteries located in two large battery pods on the sides of the vehicle. Propulsion comes from two main one HP thrusters and two other one HP thrusters which are angled to provide lateral control. Thrusters are available in a variety of horsepower ratings but this package can propel the Deep Worker 2000 at a top speed of three to four knots.

The pilot uses his feet to steer and control the Newt Sub. Two pedals at the lower end of the leg tube are used for manoeu vring and acceleration. Pushing the right pedal with the toe and ball of your right foot propels the submersible forward. Pushing harder makes you go faster. Push with your heel and you go backwards. Swing your right foot to the right or left and you turn in that direction. Pushing on the toe of your left foot and you descend, push on the heel and you ascend. And the controls operate simultaneously in order to make steep angling dives and ascents.

The life support system consists of twin, externally mounted, oxygen cylinders, two redundant, mechanical oxygen control lers and two CO2 scrubbing units and will provide a breatheable environment for over 100 hours. One of the remarkable features of the Deep Worker 2000 is the Bio Sensor system that monitors and reads out not only physiological data about the pilot, including respiratory rate and life support duration at current usage but also displays all system status information including depth, port and starboard O2 pressure, air quality and pressure and a previous five minute graph of O 2 and CO2, cabin pressure and depth to look at 'trending' information. All of this information and more can be accessed from a notebook computer and transmitted to the surface via a wireless communication system. As a last ditch manoeuvre in an emergency, the pilot can jettison the battery packs and ballast from the main hull and rise safely to the surface where surface support can be contacted through the on-board VHF radio.

The Deep Worker 2000 has great potential as a working and exploration vehicle and the Canadian navy is also considering it's potential in the area of submarine rescue. It weighs less than a ton and can be launched and recovered with a minimum of fuss. It can be fitted with a wide assortment of accessories such as sampling equipment, a precision laser measuring system, burial and excavation pumps, hydraulic cutters and tools or a video system which would transmit video and other signals to the surface via a thin optic fibre cable. One version even has water-powered manipulator arms that can be extended to 14 feet.

Future planned modifications include the ability to attach a second pressure sphere to the Deep Worker 2000 and thereby making it a two person unit and different alloys are being explored which will allow the submersible to go below 2000 feet.