Feb 1 2011
The San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has purchased a sophisticated console to be deployed at the San Antonio Public Library that will enable people to control a robot under the ocean. The San Antonio Public Library is the first library in the nation to deploy the high-tech console.
San Antonio Public Library will install a ultra-tech console to control a undersea robot.
This Education Command Console will enable the students of the city to navigate remotely, a subsea robot called the JASON. The robot together with NAUTILUS will assist the kids to gain more knowledge about the sea world. Robert D. Ballard, a developer of sophisticated deep submergence and tele-presence technologies, has participated in numerous educational outreach programs including the JASON Project, NAUTILUS Live, Immersion Learning and television programs for the National Geographic Society.
Ballard also serves as chair of the JASON Project. He received worldwide recognition for his undersea exploration by developing remotely operated submersibles that can operate miles below the sea surface at mission sites. The JASON robot and the NAUTILUS are linked through a high bandwidth satellite connection to the Inner Space Center and from the center to the world.
The Education Command Console is expected to be operated by July 2011. The Hispanic Chamber had initiated the funding and AT&T, IBC Bank, Graham Weston of The Weston Centre and AT&T are some of the organizations funding the project.