Underwater Vehicle Technologies for Deep-Sea Exploration and Research

A review of the latest underwater vehicles used for deep-sea research operations. Scientists face three major challenges in the deep ocean: ‎high pressure and cold temperature, and darkness. Several underwater vehicles have evolved as a response to these challenges. Underwater ‎vehicles operate autonomously and are the primary tools in mapping the seafloor while monitoring the environment. For offshore structural ‎repair and underwater inspections, Surface operations are done through Remotely Operated Vehicles, ROVs. Human-occupied vehicles ‎HOVs allow direct scientific observation and better research results, especially in marine biology and underwater archaeology. This paper ‎discusses the design of the vehicles and functional analysis of their applications to geological processes of the marine environment and ‎activities for underwater resource exploitation. The higher performance and operational safety of the vehicles is achieved through these ‎innovations in sensors, materials science, energy systems, and communication protocols. The technology of the underwater vehicles is able ‎to overcome the limitations of the unexplored deep water environments; it is also the direction of future explorations‎.