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Ocean Observation: Gliders, Buoys & Sub-Surface monitoring Networks

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rotational world and that?s what most of our products do today but to that we have added many more  ber optic capa- bilities,? he said. Glister, a native of England (and a citi- zen of Canada) and a design engineer by profession, said  ber optics send signals through photons of light and can carry much more data and transfer it further than electricity. ?So we make many parts for  ber op- tic systems that are used underwater. A very typical one is you have an under- water robot (ROV) that is doing mainte- nance. It may be a wellhead on the ocean  oor or a sunken wreck they want to have a look at. There may be other types of inspection like on a pipeline check- ing for cracks, ocean bed debris cover- ing the pipe, etc. They send down these robots with cameras, sonar and other sensors. They use and produce a lot of data, therefore, we supply  ber optic systems for ROVs plus electrical power systems. Those are two main products -  ber optics and electrical power - and they are all made here. Other products made here include very large electrical power swivels for  oating oil platforms and we do what is called a  uid rotary union, the  uid equivalent of a slip ring. So we have basically four major disci- plines in the (Burnside) building making advanced technology products for the underwater business,? said Glister. Creating advanced technology for ma- rine applications is an ongoing process at Moog Focal?s Nova Scotia facility. Research and development are part of the company?s engrained culture. ?Out of approximately 190 people in this building we have about 45 in en- gineering and about another 15 in what we call production engineering,? said Glister. ?So we have about 60 engineers and technologists doing a lot of develop- ment. At anytime there is at least 20 new product developments going on in the building. It could be for one customer or a product we are trying to sell across the total marine market,? he said. Some of Moog Focal?s developments include a  ber optic rotary joint for use www.seadiscovery.com MTR #7 (66-81).indd 75MTR #7 (66-81).indd 758/28/2013 9:16:16 AM8/28/2013 9:16:16 AM

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