Today, the robot: SCUBADOOBA DOO got some new "clothes"! While fine-tuning the buoyancy of our robot, we learned what may seem like an obvious lesson: Styrofoam disintegrates when it gets wet! We, obviously, can't put any substance into the Antarctic environment that will crumble and pollute the area. Our solution: swimming pool noodles! Not only do these not disintegrate, but they also come with a naturally hollowed out center; the perfect thing for wrapping around the tether cables and the robot frame!
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Swimming Noodles to the rescue!
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The "perfect" solution; floatation and tether wrapping!
We were able to relatively quickly remove the old Styrofoam and replace it with the "cut to fit" noodles. We were quite pleased to have found noodles with the same color as our PVC cement; we do hope to be "stylish" under the ice!
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The robot's new clothes! Note the matching PVC cement!
Once we replaced all the floats, we adjusted for buoyancy in the water bucket. SCUBADOOBA DOO is ready to go! We are all very excited!
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Perfectly buoyant!