Development of autonomous underwater vehicle 'AQUA EXPLORER 2' for inspection of underwater cables

A new autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) named AQUA EXPLORER 2 (AE-2) has been developed. AE-2 can trace buried underwater cables and can measure their burial depth at a low operating cost. It can be controlled through a low-bit-rate acoustic link, and can send a video signal through another high-bit-rate acoustic link. Compared with its prototype AQUA EXPLORER 1000 (AE-1000), performance has been considerably improved due to an overall revamping of the mechanical and electrical design. The continuous operating period is now six times longer for a total of 24 hours at a velocity of one knot, while its dry weight has been reduced by half to 260 kilograms. The first long pool test and the first sea trial were successfully carried out.