From Taiwan to Mazatland, Mexico
with GttN (www.Geodrones.com and www.Gttnetcorp.com)
“We found dolphins”, “We’re super excited”! Messages from Mexico waked me up in the midnight.
You may be surprised by a report made by WWF, in 1986, more than 100,000 dolphins died as a result of being accidentally caught along with yellowfin tuna in the Pacific Ocean. In order to be responsible for managing Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) tuna fisheries and promoting dolphin conservation, Avix’s team led by our senior engineer and drone pilot, Kevin Lu were invited to participate in a “14 days Study” on ETP departed from Mexico on November 2019. The sustainable science research Study was directed by Dr. **** and her team, the Dolphin Monitoring Project was fully supported by PAST/IATTC and Gtt.NetCorp. Inc./AVIX.
Taking off and landing of an unmanned helicopter on the unstable deck has been considered as one of the most challenging and crucial tasks, AVIX senior pilot Kevin Lu had successfully carried out the mission as frequent as 7 times per day and the average total flying time per day was 4.8 hours. Despite the harsh environment, time-intensive and strenuous process, we feel honored and grateful to be part of this significant project, and the valuable experience had benefited us a great deal.
馬薩特蘭(Mazatlán)的出航與歸來手機WhatsApp在夜半時分傳來墨西哥團隊兩則英文留言：「找到一群海豚」、「我們超興奮」。但你若問田屋科技(AVIX)在船上執行任務的三位工程師，他們的答案恐怕是一點也興奮不起來的哭臉貼圖。這支在墨西哥西岸的北太平洋上漂流十四天的科研團隊，要求之嚴謹、節奏之快速、任務之艱巨，歷經行前數次網路會議與多番書信往返協商，才將合約中關鍵性的細節，拍板定案——多少海里的速度下可以起飛？一天飛多久才合理？一個飛手如何讓兩台飛機無縫接軌起飛與降落……？直到親臨無邊無際的大海，明明是碧波萬頃，水面遼闊，卻又全然不是旖旎浪漫那種文藝夢幻的想象——安撫了吃不下又吐不出的天旋地轉之後，「上戰場」的全副武裝讓身心必須在最短時間內調適好。面對每天性情不定的天候，與變幻莫測的突發狀況，要做到臨危不亂已經大不易，還要冷靜尋找對策、立即解決問題，然後再繼續執行任務，這對二度前往墨西哥的三位工程師而言，既要獨當一面，又要保持高度警覺，都是勞心又費力的工作。光是每天在「搖擺不定、最難掌控的甲板」上讓直升機起飛降落好幾回，還要沉著完成連續十四天、每日平均近五小時的各種飛行任務，對田屋的資深飛手阿原來說，如此消耗身心的壓力，難以言喻；而負責機體檢查與維修的益民，責任重大，吃力而繁瑣。忐忑與焦慮，成為團隊每天的常態心情。日夜緊盯著熒幕、解讀與處理即使影像十幾個小時的佳輝，在工作日誌中除了「雨大風強」的記錄，還包括險象環生的情節：「降落時因船隻傾斜以致旋翼打到甲板……飛手緊急切換飛行模式，及時救回飛機……」。驚險不乏，驚艷也不斷：「Z字形飛行時發現大群殺人鯨」、「看到跳躍海豚」、「發現大批海豚群」。大功告成那天，我們收到群組裡傳來的大合照——美國科研團隊、美國GttN集團、墨西哥四大漁業之一的水產養殖公司成員、與田屋科技的團隊——十四天在無處可逃的船上「患難與共」，磨合出團隊默契與情感。這段真槍實彈的獨特經歷，雖有挫折，但收穫更多——我們有幸參與了一場開啟「科技與大自然」的美好體會，而通過了這段全力以赴的考驗後，等在前頭的，不會總是朗朗雲天的順遂——各樣系統的強化、優化與重置，猶如一波又一波更尖刻的批判與挑戰，但我們沒有後退的選項，只有繼續乘風破浪，往前行。
由 Avix Technology Inc. 發佈於 2019年12月22日 星期日
