RMS Titanic, Inc. - 1998 Research and Recovery Expedition

If the system works as planned, it will represent another breakthrough in Titanic imaging. On the last expedition, in 1996, Paul used a sub-bottom profiler to gather acoustic images of the Titanic’s iceberg damage—evidence that was buried in more than 50 feet of ocean-bottom mud.

What the technology discovered was surprising. Instead of a 300-foot gash along the liner’s starboard side, as many people had expected, Paul found just six thin slits, a mere 12 square feet of damage.

Now, with his new optical imaging system, Paul may someday be able to create a virtual reality visit to the Titanic’s wreck. "It’s the cutting-edge nature of this technology," he says, "that’s really exciting to me."

Meanwhile, over on the Ocean Voyager, there’s been progress with the ROV imaging system. The sea has been calm, the ship has been holding its position, and Magellan was at last launched at 10:30 a.m. on its first dive to the debris field, 600 meters behind the Titanic’s stern.



		Reports written by Susan Wels	Images produced by Matt Tulloch

		Friday, August 7, 1998 "She was the latest thing in the art of shipbuilding." —J. Bruce Ismay Managing director of the White Star Line First-class passenger The Titanic
		Aboard the Nadir today, imaging expert Paul Matthias, president of Polaris Imaging, has spent much of his time assembling a groundbreaking new optical system for collecting virtual 3D images of the Titanic. The system is made up of two high-resolution still cameras--Gabriel and Lauren, named after Paul's children--which he'll mount on the submersible Nautile, along with two strobe lights and two laptop computers. Tomorrow, if all goes well, he’ll dive to the Titanic and test the new imaging technology. "What we’re doing," Paul says, "is pretty ambitious." By gathering thousands of images of the top and sides of the ship, as well as the debris field, he’ll create a precisely mapped, computerized photomosaic of the wreck. The images will have three-dimensional depth, and their resolution will be so high that the smallest details will be fully visible. "We’ll have pictures so clear," he adds, "that we could make them 100 feet high and you still wouldn’t be able to see the pixels.
		If the system works as planned, it will represent another breakthrough in Titanic imaging. On the last expedition, in 1996, Paul used a sub-bottom profiler to gather acoustic images of the Titanic’s iceberg damage—evidence that was buried in more than 50 feet of ocean-bottom mud. What the technology discovered was surprising. Instead of a 300-foot gash along the liner’s starboard side, as many people had expected, Paul found just six thin slits, a mere 12 square feet of damage. Now, with his new optical imaging system, Paul may someday be able to create a virtual reality visit to the Titanic’s wreck. "It’s the cutting-edge nature of this technology," he says, "that’s really exciting to me." Meanwhile, over on the Ocean Voyager, there’s been progress with the ROV imaging system. The sea has been calm, the ship has been holding its position, and Magellan was at last launched at 10:30 a.m. on its first dive to the debris field, 600 meters behind the Titanic’s stern.
		Magellan’s test was a success. Through its miles of fiber-optic cable, the ROV sent up high-resolution video images of doors, pots, crockery, furniture, boilers and other items that spilled from the Titanic as she sank. Now, a few minutes before midnight, the Magellan technical crew from Oceaneering is out on the fantail recovering the cable and waiting for the ROV to rise. Under a full moon, a blue light suddenly appears under the water, and soon Magellan’s yellow body breaks the surface and rises high above the fantail on a crane. Everything worked as expected, one of the engineers tells me; all in all, it wasn’t a bad day. Back to the Expedition Calendar
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