New Vehicle Allows Scientists to Stay Underwater for Weeks

SadaNews - The British company "DEEP" has designed a vehicle named "Vanguard" which resembles a "human habitat underwater", allowing scientists to stay underwater for continuous days to conduct their research.

The company unveiled its prototype on Wednesday in a hangar in Miami, Florida, promising that this innovation will allow ocean scientists and other researchers to use the vehicle to stay underwater for at least a week, instead of just a few hours as is the case in most exploratory missions.

Norman Smith, Chief Technology Officer at "DEEP" and the lead engineer of the "Vanguard" project, told the Agence France-Presse that "there are areas in the world's oceans that have not yet been explored at these depths, and making them accessible to divers will open up entirely new horizons in the field of science."

Currently, the operation range of "Vanguard" is limited to depths of no more than 20 meters underwater, a depth accessible by diving, but "DEEP" is working on prototypes that can reach depths of 200 meters.

The vehicle consists of 3 sections: a living room, a diving center, and a base. The first section, measuring 12 meters in length and 3.7 meters in width, is where the scientists eat, sleep, and work, and is designed to withstand the ocean water pressure to ensure the safety of up to 4 people inside.

The "diving center" will be connected to the underwater base, which will be anchored to the seabed to protect those inside from waves and storms.

"Vanguard" will also include a floating structure on the surface to transport compressed air, supply power to the vessel, and allow communication with the outside world.

When "DEEP" deploys its "Vanguard" vehicle for the first time in the coming weeks off the coast of Florida, the company hopes that scientists will be able to use it for long-term projects aimed at preserving the underwater environment, such as restoring coral reefs.