Modern-Day Uses
of Underwater
Vehicles
Module 1, Section 2
Modern-Day Uses of
Underwater Vehicles
All underwater vehicles are designed for
a purpose – that is, they have some
kind of work or mission to accomplish.
 It may be observational or
 It may require physical intervention

National Defense
Used for:
 Search, detection and reconnaissance
 Underwater communications
 Sub-sea surveillance
 Self-defense of ships, subs, and harbors
 Engineering tasks; mine removal,
construction port clearance/survey
Resource Extraction




The Oil and Gas Industry is the
biggest users
Work class ROVs are used to maintain
wellheads and equipment
Mining
Aquaculture
Science
New technology enables scientists to do previously
impossible observations and experiments, thus
opening up whole new frontiers to scientific discovery.
Oceanography
 Pharmacology
 Microbiology
 Limnology

Ocean Engineering
 Acoustics
 Energy

Telecommunications
AUVs and ROVs are used for mapping
and survey
 Bottom crawling ROVs handle the
seabed installation of cable.

Construction, Inspection, and
Maintenance

Projects such as bridges, offshore
drilling and production facilities, dams,
piers, and cable and pipeline operations
all require some sort of underwater
intervention work.
Search and Recovery

Most search and recovery work is
undertaken to locate and recover
bodies, downed aircraft, sunken boats,
valuable equipment, stolen property, or
evidence of criminal activities.
Archeology
1.
2.
3.
4.
Underwater archeology is a rapidly
growing field that benefits from a wide
range of underwater technology to:.
Locate
Assess
Identify
Document
Archeology
Locate
Archeology
Locate
Archeology
Assess
Archeology
Assess
Archeology
Identify
Archeology
Identify
Document
Recreation and Entertainment
Scuba
 Tourist Subs
 Movies/Film making
 Micro-ROVs

Education
Teachers are using the motivational effects of ROVs to excite
this and future generations of children to study science and
technology
1.
2.
3.
4.
MATE International ROV Competition
Scout Class
Ranger Class
Explorer Class
Sea Perch ROV
Jason Project
AUVSI