SAR, NAUTILE, SAGA, ELIT--Four new vehicles for underwater work and exploration: The IFREMER approach

Manned or unmanned, towed, tethered, or acoustically remote-controlled underwater vehicles are the necessary tools of deep-ocean exploration as well as the exploitation of the continental shelf mineral resources. It is possible to identify categories of tasks for which a type of vehicle is best suited, and in each of those categories, the Institut Français de Recherche pour l´Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), the French agency for ocean research, has designed new sophisticated vehicles, giving to scientists and engineers a set of tools to fulfill most of their needs. SAR is a broad-range high-resolution side-scan sonar designed for detailed acoustic surveys; NAUTILE is a 6000-m capability manned submersible; SAGA is a large autonomy lock-out 600-m submersible. Finally, ELIT will be a totally autonomous vehicle for inspection of oil underwater structures.