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.