10 Years Ago, Opto 22 Reached the Deepest Part of the Ocean


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It has been almost exactly 10 years since James Cameron – noted filmmaker and all-round adventurous type – ventured to the deepest point of any of the world’s oceans in a tiny one-man submersible. Seven miles beneath the surface of the water, his vehicle of choice was forced to contend with near-freezing temperatures, total darkness and a punishing 16,000 lbs of pressure per square inch.

It was hostile to say the least, but an environment that was no match for the Deepsea Challenger. Perhaps most impressively, this ultra-durable one-man submarine was controlled in its entirety by an off-the-shelf Opto 22 SNAP PAC System.

As the UK’s only authorised distributor of Opto 22 products, we can personally vouch for the quality, sophistication and rugged reliability of their hardware.

Deepsea Diving, Reinvented

For Mr Cameron’s voyage to the bottom of the sea, his team was forced to completely rethink our conventional approach to deepsea diving. In total, more than 180 systems on the vehicle needed to be controlled and monitored simultaneously, ranging from lighting to three cameras to thrusters to depth sensors.

Not to mention, the sub’s life support systems.

For this, the team decided to go with an off-the-shelf SNAP PAC System, engineered by the renowned automation experts at Opto 22.

The monitor and control system for the submersible incorporated a SNAP-PAC-S2 programmable automation controller, a rack-mounted I/O processor, and analogue, serial, and high-density discrete I/O modules. Speaking with the media ahead of the expedition, the Deepsea Challenger design team said that they had chosen the SNAP-PAC-S2 controller on the basis of its communications flexibility and speed.

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Boasting two independent Ethernet network interfaces and four individually configurable serial ports (RS-232, RS-485 2-wire or 4-wire), the PAC-S2 was the ideal choice for managing communications between the dozens of different systems and devices on the vessel.

The system was powered and interacted with by way of the PAC Project Professional Software Suite, which kept Mr Cameron informed on everything from battery power to oxygen levels in real time.

Still an Impressive Achievement

A decade down the line, what Mr Cameron and the Deepsea Challenger team achieved on that day is still impressive…if not remarkable. Standards in technology and automation have evolved significantly over the years, but Opto 22 continues to be the name in state of the art automation and IIoT applications worldwide.

At System Devices, we are proud to operate as the UK’s only authorised distributor of Opto 22 products. For more information on the company’s latest product lineup or to discuss your requirements in more detail, reach out to a member of the team at System Devices anytime for an obligation-free consultation.


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Craig Upton

Craig Upton supports UK businesses by increasing sales growth using various marketing solutions online. Creating strategic partnerships and keen focus to detail, Craig equips websites with the right tools to rank in organic search. Craig is also the CEO of iCONQUER, a UK based SEO Firm and has been working in the digital marketing arena for many years. A trusted SEO consultant and trainer, Craig has worked with British brands such as FT.com, djkit.com, Bridging Finance, Serimax and has also supported UK doctors, solicitors and property developers to gain more exposure online. Craig has gained a wealth of knowledge using Google and is committed to creating new opportunities and partnerships.