Engage

See

Think

Wonder

Float Like Robot,

Design Like An Engineer

Sinéad Jordan and Lauren Hudson

Explore

Introduction Mission 1: Engineering Challenge

Your float design (table and diagram) must meet the following the constraints:

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• Your float includes all required components: housing, bladder, buoyancy pump, communications antenna, and batteries
• Your float has enough cells to power the instruments you have selected
• Your float’s total mass is equal to or less than 30 kg
• Your float’s total scientific value is greater than 3

Introduction Mission 1: Engineering Challenge

Your float prototype must meet the following construction requirements:

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• Use recyclable or reusable materials from the classroom to construct parts that represent each component/instrument and battery in as creative and realistic a way as possible
• Placement of each component must be correct
• Enclose the “electrical circuit components” for each sensor within the pressure case in a way that they can be accessed for “troubleshooting” (all hypothetical)

Note: Your prototype does not need to function as a submersible, autonomous float profiler! It is a model.

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Explain

Andrew Meyer

Research Scientist

and Engineer

Image: Ken Johnson (MBARI)

CTD

O₂ (Dissolved Oxygen)

NO₃ (Nitrate)

pH

Bio-optics (Suspended particles and chlorophyll)

GPS/Iridium and Electronics

Buoyancy Energy and Bladder

Cells and Batteries

Pressure Case

ELABORATE

Explore the Floats!

Explore the Floats!

Select When the Floats Were Deployed

Select a Float

Float 4903499

Get Float Details

Float Details (opens a new window!)

Zoom to the Float

Zoom to the Float

Each dot is a float profile

Each line is the drift at ~1000m depth

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Select a Profile

See the Data!

Select a Profile (same float)

See the Data!

Zoom in for Detail

Alternative Ways to Select a Float

Search for Specific Instruments

Check if Float is Active