Building Boaty using Matlab

Abstract

This is a brief animation showing the steps to build the Autosub Long Range (aka Boaty McBoatface) using Matlab. As a bit of fun during the recent DynOPO 2017 cruise (oceanmixing.github.io/projects/dynopo/), we discussed ways to display the data being collected by the ALR. One of tricky aspects of using data from an autonomous platform is that it is neither a vertical profile (where plotting axes are depth and quantity being plotted) nor a horizontal section (where the x-axis is time or distance, and the vertical axis is depth). Instead, the data are along a track – wherever the submarine goes – which in this case, was to be bottom-following down the slope of Orkney Passage, a steep underwater mountain pass. So a movie in 3-d was the aim, but for a little extra pizzazz, data could appear under the track of an animated autosub. This is how autosub was constructed in Matlab. The animation shows the component pieces (body - or rather the fiberglass fairing, propeller, stern planes and rudder, wings, Rockland MicroRider instrument) and animates the propeller to give the impression of a flying Boaty. Coded by Eleanor Frajka-Williams (University of Southampton - eleanorfrajka.com) w/help from Rob Templeton (National Oceanography Centre, Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems - noc.ac.uk/facilities/marine-autonomous-robotic-systems/autosubs).