Bombarded by politics, data concerns, and the normal hysterics of the always-on news cycle, we occasionally need an old fashioned story about sunken treasure.
This is a good one, but it's anything but old fashioned.
It starts in the turbulent days of the early 18th century. On June 8, 1708, the San Jose, one of the largest treasure galleons in the Spanish fleet, encountered British ships. It was the height of the War of Spanish Succession, and a maritime battle ensued.
The San Jose stood a good chance with its 62 canons and a crew trained to protect its valuable cargo of loot from the New World. But fate was not on San Jose's side. A store of gunpowder aboard the ship ignited during the battle, sending 600 souls and a haul of gold, silver, and emeralds mined in Peru to the murky depths.
The treasure was valued at $17 billion in today's dollars. Naturally, the wreck has been one of the most coveted unicorns for maritime treasure seekers ever since.
It was found two years ago, and we only just learned that it took a robot to do it.
REMUS 6000 is the latest in a series of underwater research robots from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI[1]) in Massachusetts, the largest independent nonprofit dedicated to ocean research in the world.
The torpedo-shaped submersible is capable of operating at depths up to 3.73 miles. It weighs 1,900 pounds on the hard and measures 12.6 feet tip to stern.
An autonomous explorer, it navigates its punishing environment like a fantasy creature perfectly suited to the depths. GPS and radio signals become useless far below the surface, so engineers had to get creative.
The robot uses accelerometers