VEHICLES 



To perform undersea tasks, service platforms must provide mobility and motive 

 power for the working tools and support to the sensors needed for acquisition and mon- 

 itoring of the work site. These service platforms may range from a human diver, for minor 

 shallow water work, through a range of tethered and untethered, manned and unmanned 

 submersible systems. Both diver and manned systems are covered most adequately else- 

 where; therefore, this paper will concentrate on the application of remotely controlled 

 unmanned systems, with special emphasis on the required sensors and tools. 



Although these systems are referred to as unmanned, this does not mean that 

 man has been removed from the system; it simply implies that the human operator is not 

 aboard the vehicle at the work site. The human operator (figure 1) is totally integrated 

 into the system and has full perception because of displays from the sensors aboard the 

 vehicle and the controls for its operation. Thus, these vehicles would be more properly 

 termed "remotely manned undersea vehicles." 



At the Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC), a broad family of undersea submers- 

 ible systems has been developed. The following are examples of tethered unmanned 

 vehicles of various sizes and capabilities to match varying requirements. 



Figure 1. Operators at RUWS control console. 



