My Science School

World War II was a global war from 1939-45 that involved the vast majority of countries on our planet. Often considered to be among the biggest and bloodiest wars in history, it was also a period of large-scale scientific and technological progress.

Even though the battles were often fought on the grounds, waters, or in the air, the casualties were not limited to these alone. As thousands of troops travelled to locations far from home, military leaders were pushed to also find ways to fight diseases that were endemic to these regions.

Fighting malaria

Insect-borne diseases, especially malaria, were causing a lot of casualties – even more than actual combat according to certain estimates. To curb the spread of malaria, bug bombs were invented by Americans Lyle D. Goodhue and William Sullivan.

Born in a farm in Iowa in 1903, Goodhue did Chemistry for his undergrad, before specialising and earning a PhD in Plant Chemistry. Sullivan was born in Massachusetts in 1908 and was one of eight children to his parents. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree, Sullivan collected a Masters degree in Entomology, the study of insects.

The paths of Goodhue and Sullivan intertwined in the U.S. Department of Agriculture late in the 1930s. With the emergence of global air transportation and the particular problems that came along with it, Goodhue and Sullivan were seeking a way to stop the spread of insects.

Aerosols are efficient

The duo started off by burning a mixture of pyrethrum, corn stalks, and sodium nitrate in the presence of some house flies. Even though the results were satisfactory, it was obvious to them that too much insecticide was burnt in this process. Dripping or splashing the solution on a hotplate was more effective as it produced a fine mist or aerosol. While similar techniques were already being used to control mosquitoes in urban areas, this wasn’t practical for aircraft.

Sullivan and Goodhue settled on a mixture of pyrethrum, sesame oil, and Freon 12 (dichlorodifluoromethane) in a cylinder with a valve and a nozzle. When this was operated, it left the insecticide dispersed in the air as an aerosol. A patent was applied for this “Dispensing apparatus” that was simple and effective on October 3, 1941 and it was granted on October 5, 1943.

Useful in the Pacific theatre

In the interim period, the idea went through a number of iterations to make it more suitable for soldiers’ use, and not just limit it to aircraft carriers. The bug bombs were thus born, and in the period between1942-45, over 40 million of these aerosol bombs were sent out to the troops for military use.

The bug bombs came in particularly handy in the Pacific theatre of WWII. The Japanese had occupied plantations in the South Pacific that provided the quinine used to treat malaria. With other natural substitutes available less effective for the purpose, the Allies needed something else and the bug bombs came as a welcome relief.

The portable cylinder allowed soldiers to defend themselves against insects by spraying the insecticides easily inside their tents and aircrafts, and even on nets and clothes. The bug bombs saved thousands of lives as it cut down malarial and other vector-borne diseases during the war.

Spray cans

The bug bombs paved the way for the aerosol industry after the war and a variety of consumer products came in this type of packaging. While chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were the most popular choice as propellants to begin with, the dangers they posed to the ozone layer were exposed in the 1970s.

By the end of the 1980s, CFCs were replaced almost throughout the world by other mixtures as aerosol propellants. Non-propellant packaging alternatives have also been developed.

From insecticides to deodorants, and self-defence sprays to medical inhalers, aerosol spray cans come in a variety of shapes and sizes and serve myriad purposes. While the concept of aerosol is much older, it was the bug bomb developed by Goodhue and Sullivan that put the aerosol spray can to effective use.

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Commonly abbreviated as AR. augmented reality is a technology where computer-generated content is overlaid on a real world environment.

The technology makes use of hardware such as smartphones, smartwatches, glasses and headsets to give users a real-like experience.

One can find examples of AR in video games, television and personal navigation among others.

Video games: Pokemon Go is one of the most popular games that makes use of AR. Available on iOS and Android, the game uses GPS to know your location. As you move around your avatar is overlaid on a real-world map along with other in-game content such as Pokemon, gyms and other characters. When you attempt to catch a Pokemon on your path, the Pokemon shows up against the real world background generated by the game using your smartphone's camera.

Television: In television you can see the use of AR mainly in sports. The tracking line you see in Cricket that shows the path the ball has travelled from the bowlers arm to the wickets is an example of AR.

Personal navigation: When it comes to navigation, AR is used to display location information in real-time mostly using a heads-up display (HUD) that projects images like a hologram. For example, Google Glass, an HUD, overlays directions from Google Maps and identifies locations using the built-in camera.

How is it different from VR?

Many people use the words Virtual Reality (VR) and AR interchangeably. However, the two are different. AR augments reality. It does not change it. Meaning, it add objects and visuals to a real world location/background usually. VR on the other hand, works regardless of your location and creates an artificial universe by itself.

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There was no need to put pen to paper for creating the content that you are now reading. The author typed it out directly on a system and after several processes, all of which were done using computers, it was printed out in the newspaper.

In a world that is increasingly filled with gadgets and even infants and toddlers being exposed to it, a future where pens and pencils might even be sidelined isn’t unthinkable. That said, there is no denying that pens have already played a pivotal role in the fields of learning and documenting.

The history of pens is dotted with contributions from several people across the globe. Among them is American Peregrine Williamson, an early pioneer in the pen-making business and certainly among the first to be financially successful as a pen manufacturer.

Largely unknown

For someone who has enjoyed the kind of success that Williamson has, there is very little documentation that tells us more about him. Almost nothing is known about his personal life, and details such as when he was born, where he was raised, or even how exactly he made his pens are rather obscure.

What we do know is that he was born in the second half of the 18th Century and that he was working as a jeweller in Baltimore at the turn of the century. Legend has it that it was during this time, when he had trouble cutting a quill to his own satisfaction, that he made a steel pen for himself.

Like other steel pens of the time, Williamson’s first attempts resulted in a tube-shaped steel pen that were too stiff. This led Williamson to one of the most important early innovations to steel pens, the side slits.

Increased flexibility

Using a method of adding two additional slits, one on each side of the main slit, Williamson was able to fix the stiffness problem. As the tines (the two sides of the nib divided by the slit) were now narrower, it increased the flexibility of the tines, making writing that much easier.

The best surviving records of Williamson’s pen making are his advertisements in the newspapers and correspondence with various people, including Thomas Jefferson, one of the country’s founding fathers and the third President of the U.S. from 1801-1809.

Jefferson’s praise

The letters between Williamson and Jefferson reveal that the former sent his pens to the President while he was in office. Williamson’s early advertisements from 1808 included excerpts from the President, which mentioned that the pens were “certainly superior to any metallic pen he has ever seen” and that he “now indeed use no other kind”.

Williamson received a patent for his metallic writing pen on November 22, 1809. This patent, 1,168X, however, is among the missing X patents, as a lot of U.S. patents were destroyed in a fire in the mid 1830s. All that survives of the patent is its mention in lists published in books.

Williamson’s pens were certainly popular and he was able to establish a financially viable manufacturing business. Even though he was probably at it for only a few years, the demand was sufficient enough for him to hire a journeyman assistant to help him in the production and declare a handsome profit as well.

Gillott or Williamson?

It is worth mentioning that Birmingham-based English pen manufacturer Joseph Gillott is often credited with inventing side slits to increase flexibility of the tines based on his 1831 patent. While Gillott could have arrived at this innovation of his own accord, he might have well been imitating Williamson’s pens as well.

In those times, there was a practice of putting up pens by the dozen on a card. It is believed that Williamson sent a card of his pens to England and those could well have made their way to Gillott. Some even go as far as to suggest that Gillott even used the idea of packaging pens using cards based on this.

11 patents overall

As for Williamson, he did try to get back to his pens and even obtained a patent in 1835 – 8,735X for metallic pens. With a sliding clasp to make the pen more or less flexible and hardening the tip of the nib, Williamson sought to bring two innovations. There is, however, no evidence to suggest that Williamson ever made these pens.

Williamson died in the 1840s, a little over 70 years old. Along with his pen-related patents, Williamson had a total of 11 patents to his name, including those for roasting coffee and improving bedsteads. Unfortunately, only one of these – issued in 1840 – remains, while every other patent he obtained from 1809-1835 was lost to the fire.

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When it comes to cars, you might have noticed that a lot of weightage is given to brands. Packard was one such name that made people stop and take notice, as owning the American luxury automobile was considered prestigious during its heyday.

Even though Packards are no longer in production, surviving examples of these cars are now found in museums, and also find their way into car shows and automobile collections. American mechanical engineer and industrialist James Ward Packard was responsible for the brand gaining such a reputation.

A clever contraption

Born on November 5, 1863 in Warren, Ohio, Packard was intelligent, inquisitive, and interested in all things mechanical from a very young age. His fascination in engineering probably came through his father, a prominent businessman who owned and operated hardware stores, mills, and machine shops.

Packard entered Lehigh University in 1880 and it soon became obvious to everyone around him that he was gifted when it came to handling mechanical and electrical systems. During his time here, it is said that he rigged telegraph lines to friends’ rooms and wired the doors and windows of his dorm room and an alarm clock.

The latter demonstrated his aptitude for invention and mechanical devices as the switching mechanism allowed him to open or close the doors and windows without getting up. Packard’s senior thesis was titled “Design of a Dynamo Electric Machine”, and he was involved with the Lehigh University Bicycle Club, serving as a signpost of how his industrial career was going to pan out.

Over 40 patents

Packard obtained the first of over 40 patents that he earned through his lifetime for the Packard electric lamp in 1889. He returned to his home town of Warren, Ohio the next year and along with his elder brother William Doud Packard, set up the Packard Electric Company in 1890. The company succeeded in making electric bulbs, transformers, and cables, playing a direct role in Warren becoming the first U.S. city with incandescent bulb street lamps in 1911.

It was in 1898 that James bought his first automobile, a single-cylinder Winton for $1,000. The drive home from nearby Cleveland, where the machine was built, was far from comfortable as the Winton broke down and the car had to be towed into Warren using horses.

Winton’s challenge

As the Scottish-American inventor Alexander Winton resided nearby, James was able to express his displeasure directly to the car’s maker. Legend has it that Winton, tired of listening to James’ complaints about his car’s numerous flaws, told James that if he was so smart and knew so much, he should try building a better car himself.

James, who was up for the challenge, convinced his brother and an investor and entered the automobile industry. Packard Electric’s New York and Ohio lamp plant was where the first Packard automobile – the Ohio Model A – was built, and on November 6, 1899, the first car from Packard’s stable was tested on the roads.

Rise and fall

The Packards began manufacturing cars in 1900 as a subsidiary of their electronics firm, but set up the Packard Motor Car Company soon enough, in 1903. Unlike many others in the industry, the Packard brothers focussed on research and development and were hence able to make important advances to automobile engines, transmissions, chassis construction, ignition systems, and brakes.

Building cars for an exclusive clientele, it wasn’t long before the Packard line earned the reputation of being the finest luxury cars in America. Thirteen years after retiring as chairman of his hugely successful car company, James Packard died in 1928.

Packard Motors moved from strength to strength for nearly half-a-century, merged with Studebaker Corporation in the 1950s, before eventually going off the market later in the same decade. There’s news doing the rounds that the company is planning a comeback into cars.

For now, the company has produced a new luxury timepiece, another of James’ interests, called the 1899 Model A. Priced at $1,899, a quarter of the proceeds is being donated to the National Packard Museum, a place that recognises Packard’s influence in transportation and preserves the Packard legacy.

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Mining was a dangerous business in the 19th Century as miners had to work in difficult conditions with limited tools. Add to it the risk posed by firedamp – the common name given to a mixture of flammable gases, mostly methane, that occurred naturally in mines – and the threat was very real.

The threat, in fact, burst out of proportion when a series of horrific mining disasters took place in 1815 killing several miners. The serious explosions in the coal mines in north-east England were caused by firedamp, prompting calls for increasing the safety of the miners’ working conditions.

Let us ask Davy

The Rector of Bishopwearmouth (a small village then that is now part of Sunderland) took the issue to English chemist Humphry Davy in order to find a safe means of lighting coal mines. Davy, who had already built his reputation as the discoverer of several chemical elements, spent an intense few months attacking the problem.

On October 30, Davy communicated several designs of lamp to friends by private letters. These designs included the one that went on to be called Davy lamp, a miners’ safety lamp. On November 9, Davy presented his ideas to the Royal Society, later published as the paper “On the Fire-damp of Coal Mines, and on Methods of Lighting the Mines so as to Prevent its Explosion”.

In this paper, Davy went into detail about his research on firedamp and its chemical composition. He also presented several designs of lamp that could be employed safely in mines, despite the presence of firedamp.

Simple design

The final design that he arrived at was a simple one that included a basic lamp with a metallic mesh wire gauze chimney enclosing the flame. While the holes allowed air to fuel the flame and the light produced to pass through, the heat was absorbed by the metal of the gauze.

Thus, it was safe to use as the flame couldn’t heat enough flammable gas to result in an explosion. Additionally, the flame itself changed colour – it would burn with a blue cap – if firedamp was present, providing a warning of sorts for the users.

Added advantage

Furthermore, the Davy lamp helped deal with the issue of asphyxiation (state or process of being deprived of oxygen), apart from handling flammable gases. The lamp could be used by miners to check for harmful concentrations of carbon dioxide. As the flame extinguished while the level of carbon dioxide was still not lethal, it could alert miners of the possible dangers ahead.

By January 1816, the Davy lamp was successfully tested in Hebburn colliery (coal mine). As its utility was evident, the lamp was fast-tracked into production and introduced to miners for their use.

Safety lamp controversy

At around the same time Davy was working on the problem, George Stephenson, an engineer at Killingworth Colliery, was also working towards a safety lamp. Stephenson, in fact, had successfully tested a safety lamp of his own design, which also operated on the principle of restricting the flow of air, on October 21.

Davy and Stephenson had arrived at very similar lamps using their own independent means. While Davy, the man of science, studied firedamp extensively before inventing the lamp, Stephenson, a self-educated mechanic, used intuition and common sense along with a lot of trial and error. The resulting lamps were nearly the same and what ensued was a bitter dispute over taking credit for the invention.

The safety lamp controversy lasted for considerable time, but it was Davy who eventually emerged on top, winning credit for inventing the first miners’ safety lamp. Stephenson enjoyed success as the inventor of the steam-powered railroad locomotive and is even hailed as the “Father of Railways”.

Regardless of whether the credit for inventing the miners’ safety lamp should be shared or not, it certainly did change the mining landscape completely. Its effect on the industry was immediate and impactful as it not only drastically reduced the number of fatalities per million ton of coal produced, but also increased the overall amount of coal produced as miners were mining deeper than ever before.

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Scientists from the University of Manchester have developed a way to create a concrete like material made of extra terrestrial dust along with the blood, sweat and tears of astronauts.

This may help solve a crucial problem in setting up Martian colonies. Transporting a single brick to Mars can cost more than US$2 million, making the future construction of a Martian colony extremely expensive.

A protein from human blood (human serum albumin) combined with urea (a compound from urine, sweat or tears) could glue together simulated moon or Mars soil to produce a material stronger than ordinary concrete, which would be perfectly suited for construction work in extra-terrestrial environments. The resulting material has been named AstroCrete.

Scientists calculated that over 500 kg of high-strength AstroCrete could be produced over the course of a two year mission on the surface of Mars by a crew of six astronauts.

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The world's largest plant designed to suck carbon dioxide out of the air and turn it into rock recently started running. The plant, named Orca, after the Icelandic word orka meaning "energy", consists of four units, each made up of two metal boxes.

Constructed by Switzerland's Climeworks and Iceland's Carbfix, when operating at capacity the plant will draw 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air every year.

The plant uses fans to draw air into a collector with a filter material inside. Once the filter material is filled with CO2, the collector is closed and the temperature is raised to release the CO2 from the material, after which the highly-concentrated gas is collected. The CO2 is then mixed with water before being injected at a depth of 1,000 metres into the nearby basalt rock where it is petrified. Proponents of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) believe these technologies can become a major tool in the fight against climate change.

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Research from the University of Washington shows that endangered blue whales are singing off the Lakshadweep archipelago. The study is the first to document blue whale songs in Indian waters.

"The presence of blue whales in Indian waters is well known from several strandings and some live sightings of blue whales," said Divya Panicker, a UW doctoral student in oceanography. "But basic questions such as where blue whales are found, what songs do they sing, what do they eat, how long do they spend in Indian waters and in what seasons are still largely a mystery."

Scuba divers placed underwater microphones at two ends of Kavaratti Island. When Panicker listened to the recordings retrieved from the recorders, she came across low blue-whale moans.

Since whales surface only occasionally, the best way to study them is through the way they communicate. The typical blue whale song is a series of one to six low moans, each up to 20 seconds long, below the threshold of human hearing.

Whales' singing is a likely signal that the area is their breeding ground at certain times of the year. Analysis of recordings from late 2018 to early 2020 revealed that blue whales were present in Lakshadweep waters during April and May, just before the monsoon season.

Figuring out how long the whales spend in Indian waters can help conservationists develop better plans to conserve them in this climate-vulnerable region.

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Mobile Premier League (MPL) has become India's second gaming unicorn after Dream11 in 2019, raising funds at a $2.3 billion valuation (the term 'unicorn' refers to any startup that reaches the valuation of $1 billion, laying emphasis on the rarity of such start ups). The Bangalore-based start-up connects game publishers with players on its app. Users in India, Indonesia and the U.S. can access dozens of free titles - ranging from sudoku, speed chess and puzzles to shooting, fantasy and strategy games and participate in gaming contests and prize money tournaments. India is one the world's largest markets for game downloads with 840 million installs in June 2021, and the country has 400 million gamers. "Gaming is the only entertainment content where language is no barrier," says MPL founder Sai Srinivas Kiran. "Young India will make gaming so mainstream that one day soon gaming could become more popular than watching movies," he adds.

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YouTube Shorts lets you record 15-second videos and upload them. Open the YouTube app, tap on the plus icon at the bottom-centre and then on 'Create a Short'. On the recording page, tap on the 'Add Music' button at the top and choose one from YouTube's top trending songs or search for your favourite tracks. Hit the red record button to start recording. If you like a song and want to use it in the future, tap on the save icon beside it for easy access.

Once you've found the YouTube Shorts section on the app's homepage, you'll see a selection of thumbnails for popular Shorts. Clicking on any of those videos brings you into the vertical video player, where you can watch the clip. You can like or dislike the video while it's playing by tapping the thumbs up or thumbs down icon. 

You can also share the Short or comment on it from within the player, although that will pause the video. At the bottom of the clip, you can subscribe to the Short creator's channel. You can also click on their channel name to see all of that creator's YouTube Shorts.

If the clip uses a song or sound from another creator, a waveform button will appear on the right-hand side of the screen. Tapping that button will show the original source video for the audio and all the other Shorts that use that song or sound in their clip.

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Designer Ben Vessey has created an alternative to the small battery icon on an iPhone's screen. Dynamic iPhone Battery Wallpapers or Dynamo utilize the built-in Shortcuts app to change dynamically based on your iPhone's battery life - turning your phone into a giant battery indicator. The wallpapers automatically switch to a design warning low battery life when the charge level hits 20%, and also change if the battery is in need of a charge or actively charging. Dynamo is available in four different packs, each containing three sets of dynamic wallpapers - the Mac pack (inspired by classic Mac wallpapers and the Finder symbol), the Album pack (inspired by album covers from artists like David Bowie and Pink Floyd), the Apple pack (easily-recognizable Apple designs and colour palettes) and the Faces pack (cartoon characters and the iconic black and yellow smiley face). Dynamo is optimized for every iPhone from the 65 onwards.

How do they work? Each collection, which go for about $5.50 each, includes video and PDF instructions for setting up four separate automations using the iOS Shortcuts app that automatically changes your iPhone’s background based on how much charge is left. There’s no jailbreaking involved and the setup is promised to take about 10 minutes. iOS 14 is required, but the dynamically changing wallpapers should work on devices dating all the way back to the iPhone 6S.

The wallpapers automatically switch out to a design warning low battery life when the iPhone’s charge level hits 20%, and each collection also includes a version that clearly indicates when the device is charging, to avoid those times when you think you’ve plugged in a power cable correctly, or have positioned it properly on a wireless charger, when in fact you haven’t and you return a half-hour later to find your device completely dead.

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According to an international study, a bioadhesive gel or tissue: sealant synthesized from the venom of the lancehead snake (Bothrops atrox)- one of the most poisonous snakes found in South America can instantly stop severe bleeding.

"This 'super glue' can be applied by simply squeezing the tube and shining a visible light, such as a laser pointer, over it for a few seconds. Even a smartphone flashlight will do the job," said Dr Kibret Mequanint, co-author of the study.

The scientists isolated the blood-clotting enzyme batroxobin, or reptilase, from the venom of lancehead snakes. The venom possesses procoagulant (promotion of clotting) activity. They developed the new bioadhesive by integrating the enzyme with a modified form of gelatin.

In comparison to clinical fibrin glue the gold standard for field and clinical surgeons the new bioadhesive had 10 times the binding strength to withstand loosening or being washed away by bleeding. The clotting time, too, was significantly shorter - fibrin glue requires 90 seconds, the new glue required only 45 seconds.

"We envision that this 'super glue' will be used in saving lives on the battlefield, or other accidental traumas like car crashes. The applicator easily fits in first aid kits too," said Dr Mequanint. Along with practical on-field applications, the 'super glue' can be utilized for the closure of surgical wounds, potentially eliminating the need for sutures.

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Andhra Pradesh now boasts of India's largest floating solar power plant after state-run NTPC commissioned a 25MW project on the reservoir at its Simhadri coal-fired power station in Vishakhapatnam recently.

Floating solar power projects are seen as a game-changer because of their advantages over on-land projects, which require large contiguous tracts of non-farming, non-forest land. Floating solar plants reduce temperature-related losses due to the cooling effect of the water they float on, reduce evaporation rate of water bodies and have lower maintenance costs.

The floating solar installation covers 75 acres of the Simhadri reservoir's surface. It will produce power from more than a lakh of solar photovoltaic modules. for lighting 7,000 households. The project will annually save 46,000 tonnes of CO2 emission and 1,364 million litres of water, which is adequate to meet the requirement of 6,700 households in a year.

The floating solar plant is part of NTPC's plan to turn green by adding a 60 gigawatts renewable energy capacity by 2032. NTPC is also building a 100 MW floating solar power plant on the reservoir of its Ramagundam thermal power station in Tamil Nadu.

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Nicole Oliviera, a seven-year-old Brazilian girl who found seven asteroids, has been named the world's youngest astronomer. She participated in the 'Asteroid Hunt' Citizen Science Programme, run by the International Astronomical Search Collaboration which includes NASA. Nicole's fascination with space and astronomy began when she was just two years old, when she asked her mother for a star and got a toy star instead. Despite her young age, Nicole presents lectures in schools in her hometown. In June 2021, she was invited by the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to deliver a lecture at the 1" International Seminar on Astronomy and Aeronautics. Nicole has her own YouTube channel where she talks about asteroids and space. She invites eminent researchers and professors in this field to share their knowledge. The young stargazer aspires to become an aerospace engineer and build rockets to take astronauts on space missions.

She made do with a toy star at the time, but it wasn't until later that she discovered what her kid really needed. 

Oliveira was recently asked to speak at the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation's 1st International Seminar on Astronomy and Aeronautics.

Oliveira is used to presenting lectures in schools in her hometown of Maceió, despite her age. 

They invited her after learning that Oliveria is the youngest member of the Alagoas Astronomical Studies Center, Centro de Estudos Astronômico de Alagoas (CEAAL). 

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Using underwater robots, Teleportal lets anyone swim through Australia's natural wonder - the Great Barrier Reef - from the comfort of their homes. Teleportal operates a fleet of underwater robots on the Reef, which can be controlled day or night using a web browser. Users can log into the online portal, buy credits to pay for a dive, and use their keyboards to take one of the remote-controlled bots around the reef (upto 328 feet in any direction). The bot captures live video with its wide-angle 1080p camera and streams it to the user's computer screen. The robots are solar-powered and have sonar obstacle avoidance, ensuring this fragile ecosystem's protection while users enjoy an eco-friendly experience. Multiple robots and dive sites are available on Teleportal so that users will always have a new coral reef to discover and plenty of passing fauna to make each dive unique.

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