[Tyler]

Famous ABE AUV Lost at Sea
     







The
ABE
(Autonomous Benthic Explorer) has used its on-board acoustic
transponders and five thrusters to scan the seafloor for over 15 years -
locating, mapping, and photographing hydrothermal vents, volcanoes, and
other features of the great deep.
Marked with "NCC1701" due to its resemblance to Captain Kirk's ship, ABE
has performed more than 200 missions collecting valuable data for
researchers worldwide.
But something went wrong last Friday on an expedition off the coast of
Chile and ABE just stopped - nothing was ever heard again.  No word yet
on whether ABE can be located or recovered.

   

http://robots.net/article/3002.html