purchased a bluefin-21. so you know quite a bit about this. what are the advantages and disadvantages of this technology? >>. >> well, one of the primary advantages is the system is not connected to the ship. if you are in really rough weather, the auv is close to the bottom, it's unaffected by the ship's motion, riding over the big waves. with a towed system, there's a direct connection to the tow fish. as the ship travels over big waves the motion would be transmitted back to the tow fish. in this search, the vehicle is disconnected. the quality of the data should be very good. >> good. i hear you agree with him sylvia? >> i am, yes. if you are looking from high above, you get less resolution than when you are close to the