Detection sensors, autonomous vehicles and Artificial Intelligence are some of the mechanisms used in deep-sea searches.
Underwater search is an activity that has taken place for centuries on all continents and can be used for military purposes, such as tracking and identifying sunken vessels, preventing enemy submarines from entering protected territory or detecting maritime threats, such as underwater mines, or underwater infrastructure such as telecommunication cables or pipelines.
Technological developments have allowed the use of more modern mechanisms for such searches, such as unmanned remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), connected to a vessel that remains on the surface, and also autonomous submersible vehicles, or AUVs, which are pre-programmed for oceanographic missions, covering huge areas and being able to investigate hard-to-reach areas.
About a year ago, in July 2022, Project Endurance22 officials announced that Sabertooth, a Saab hybrid underwater search vehicle (ROV/AUV), located the explorer ship Endurance at a depth of 3,008 meters under the Antarctic ice. The equipment was used to find, film and document the discovery of the vessel, which sank in 1915.
Sabertooth’s technical capabilities to operate in deep water, long excursion range, functionality and fully autonomous navigation were some of the reasons for the success of the operation.
“We found the wreck, which they had not been able to locate before. We also had sensors on the vehicle which helped us get good data from the seabed. This showed the reliability of our system – its robustness, technology and readiness,” explains Peter Erkers, Sales Director for Saab Underwater Systems.
Available in single or double hull, Sabertooth is a very powerful yet lightweight inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) platform. Its small size, untethered operation and maneuverability ensure easy and safe access in and around complex structures. This makes it ideal for offshore survey work and autonomous IMR of subsea facilities and tunnels.
Saab has been ahead of its time as an early adopter of this technology and today the company is well placed to develop it further, in response to the ever-increasing opportunities provided by digitalization.
“Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence will play an increasingly important role and the next step will be to have resident systems that stay underwater for a long time. I think Sabertooth will be the first system to work in this way and, in fact, we are already developing an underwater station for it, which will allow charging and data transfer underwater,” says Erkers.