Unmanned Submersibles
In order to keep a pace with other developed countries, under the MOU with Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and Department of Ocean Development, it is proposed to develop an unmanned submersible capable of operating up to 6000 m depth. Under this MOU, NIOT, Chennai and Experimental Design Bureau of Oceanological Enginering (EDBOE), RAS, have initiated a proposal to design, develop and test the unmanned submersible capable of working up to 6,000 m water depth. The work under this joint collaborative effort was commissioned. The major specification of ROV being developed under the proposal are as follows:
The proposed ROV will be capable of diving up to the depth of 6000m. The ROV system has the following major components: vehicle on which various sensors are mounted , a cage which is used as an escalator to transport the vehicle to the working depth, ship boards systems comprising a long cable & which, ROV launch and recovery system, and a control room.
The vehicle will have overall dimensions of 2.5m X 1.5m X 1.5m and weight of about 2000 Kg and payload of 150 kg. The frame will be made of titanium alloy or stainless steel shapes. The ROV will be propelled by set of 6 thrusters. Video cameras, lights, manipulators, sonars and other sensors will be mounted onboard. A buoyancy pack will compensate for the submerged weight of the system.
The ROV will be housed in a cage that will have a winch and a tether of 400m. The cage dimensions are 3.0m X 3.0m X 2.0m. The cage will also have termination boxes for signals and electrical power, apart from some sensors.
