National Geographics Titanic: The Digital Resurrection turns 715,000 images into a digital twin of the wreck.
Maritime expert Parks Stephenson explains why this could be the future of ocean exploration.
After 113 years, Titanic is still a source of innovation.
But this 90-minute special is about so much more than the Titanic.
Those details, preserved on the ocean floor, are now accessible without going near the wreck.
The seafloor is not a renewable surface, and digging or drilling through it can cause irreversible harm.
Experts Jennifer Hooper, Chris Hearn, and Parks Stephenson look at the Titanic digital twin in the virtual studio. (Credit: Atlantic Productions)
Stephenson believes technology like the digital twin can revolutionize the way we study the ocean, without disturbing it.
He stresses that as tools for underwater expeditions grow more advanced, so does the need for ethical boundaries.
And this technology is going to be the way of the future of ocean exploration.
There are many lessons to take away from the Titanic.
There are elements from our history we can use if we educate the coming generations properly, Stephenson says.
Stephensons work with the nonprofit will be his final job as he prepares for retirement.
Working with young people and caring for a historic warship has brought a new meaning to his career.
