Scott Lafferty, Vice President of Software Development at Info Express Inc., has been “away from the office” a lot lately. The owner of a charter boat and long-time sport-fishing enthusiast Lafferty has recently been on a fishing expedition with a difference: This time the quarry was sunken treasure ships.
Equipped with a super-charged IBM XT clone that drives a high-resolution (1024 x 768), 16-color Verticom display and runs his Real-Time Data Display and Analysis (RTDDA) program, Lafferty utilized the data gathered by a SeaMARK IA side- scan sonic array, towed two miles behind the expedition vessel, to display bit-mapped images of the ocean floor. “The degree of detail is incredible,” says Lafferty. “The underwater geological formations look just like the surface of the moon.”
Developed primarily for use in oceanographic research, the RIDDA program won instant acclaim for its ability to identify active volcanoes, thermal vents, and other geologic structures. Now it is proving invaluable for more sensational search-and- retrieval applications.
Was the treasure hunt successful? Lafferty (who is under nondisclosure) sidesteps the question: “There’s nothing like a month at sea for getting a lot of work done,” he says.