Title: Study of unmanned underwater vehicles in marine regulatory applications - overview and application analysis of the two main types of AUVs and ROVs

Authors: Qiyang Cao; Yvshuo Feng; Yanan An

Addresses: University of Electronic Science and Technology, Qingshuihe Campus, China ' University of Electronic Science and Technology, Qingshuihe Campus, China ' University of Electronic Science and Technology, Qingshuihe Campus, China

Abstract: Unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) is a robotic system that can autonomously or remotely manoeuvre to perform underwater tasks without manual control, and is now widely used in military, scientific research and ocean exploration. In recent years, with the development of sensor technology, artificial intelligence and navigation and control technology, the autonomy, endurance, and operational depth of UUV have been continuously improved, and it has become an important tool in the marine field. This paper summarises the classification of UUVs, key technologies and their application status, introduces in detail the two major types of unmanned remotely operated underwater robots (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and focuses on their latest progress in key technologies such as navigation and positioning, communication, energy management, and environment sensing. Finally, it summarises the challenges faced by UUVs in the field of marine environment monitoring and resource exploration, and looks forward to the future development trend of UUVs in the field of deep-sea exploration.

Keywords: unmanned underwater vehicle; UUV; sensor technology; unmanned cable-remotely operated underwater robot; ROV; autonomous underwater vehicle; AUV; ocean exploration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOSM.2025.146802

International Journal of Ocean Systems Management, 2025 Vol.2 No.1, pp.67 - 106

Received: 19 Jan 2025
Accepted: 16 Feb 2025
Published online: 18 Jun 2025 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article