Dutch Contract for CodaOctopus – by David Goodfellow

The UK’s deepest diving Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), has been developed by engineers of the National Oceanography Centre’s Underwater Systems Laboratory in Southampton UK,

Operating in regions of the Iberian Abyssal Plain in the North Atlantic as well as the steep and rugged terrain of the Casablanca Seamount between Madeira and Morocco, it managed to dive to depths of 5,600m (3.5 miles). According to NOC officials, very few, if any, AUVs have ever operated autonomously at such depths.

One of the main aims of the trials was the demonstration of the accessibility of deep ocean regions approaching the 6,000m design depth limits of Autosub6000 for which it has been enchanced with a forward looking vertically scanning obstacle detection sonar and improved terrain following control software. Both ensure safer continuous operation closer to seabeds for completion of low speed surveys at altitudes as low as 3m. As a result, project leader Steve McPhail is confident that these and other technical advances will lead to even more challenging scientific ventures.

Meanwhile, Autosub6000 will resume operations aboard RRS James Cook in the Caribbean near the Cayman Islands in April, where it will be used together with the ROV Isis to search for deep hydrothermal vents.