Sea robots play critical role in recovery, research

[Mr T.]

Special Reports: Science & Technology


Last modified Friday, August 5, 2005 9:35 PM PDT

Sea robots play critical role in recovery, research

By: MATTHEW FORDAHL - Associated Press

Underwater robots such as the U.S. Navy submersibles being sent Friday to help free a Russian mini-submarine do precision work for the military, oil companies and oceanographers at depths dangerous to humans.

They also can be useful in intelligence and counterintelligence work, such as tapping undersea cables or removing spy equipment installed by rival nations.

The vehicles, which can be as large as shipping crates and resemble construction equipment, are controlled from a surface ship through an umbilical cord usually made up of copper and fiber optic cables for power and communications.


They can be outfitted with high-definition video cameras, scientific instruments and other gear. The Super Scorpios bound for Russia have attached cutting instruments that could be used to free Russian mini-sub and its crew of seven.

The Navy is known to have at least two Super Scorpios, which it has used primarily for such recovery work as pulling wreckage from the sea after an accident. But it's possible that the United States -- and other governments -- have made additional, secret purchases, said John Pike, an analyst at GlobalSecurity.org.

"In addition to the ones they acknowledge having ... to pick up stuff that we've dropped, they probably have got others that can be used to pick up stuff other people have dropped," Pike said.

The robots cost anywhere from $1 million to $5 million each, depending on the configuration.

Intelligence agencies also could use the vehicles to place equipment that monitors deep-sea communications cables that cross the ocean floors.

"If you suspected somebody else was doing that trick to you, these things would come in very handy for plucking them away," Pike said. The unmanned vehicles are used by oceanographers and oil companies for sample collection, engineering work and surveying.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has two remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs that it has equipped to pick up clams and mud on the ocean floor to take temperature readings and collect samples.

Over the years, the technology has improved, though some argue a manned vessel can be more effective than a robot, said Dale Graves, a technical support manager who works with MBARI's two remote vehicles.

"ROVs, when they first came out, weren't as reliable, weren't as powerful, so there was always that need for the manned submersibles," he said. "Nowadays, the ROVs can do what the manned submersible can do."

More advanced vehicles have sophisticated manipulation tools that enable operators on a support ship to control an ROV's device as if they were on board the robot. If, for instance, a probe hits something, the operator would feel a bump.

Some also are equipped with lifting devices. Navy's Super Scorpios can lift up to 250 pounds by attaching a deflated air bag to an item and then inflating the balloon.

The inflated air bag then floats to the surface, lifting the object attached to it to the surface, said Navy Capt. Russell Ervin, a reserve with Deep Submergence Unit 5.