Most projects of similar research are applied and become known mainly due to their commercial implementation. Undoubtedly, in the modern realities, it is more and more difficult to conduct scientific research regardless of the urgent production problems. Thus, cooperation of commercial structures, research institutions, military departments, etc. is required for the successful implementation of most projects. Certainly, the results of such projects can be effectively used by all the organizations listed above. For example, almost any innovation in the surveillance and search, under-ice and other studies in one form or another can be used for strategic or tactical military purposes

Anton Zhilenkov

English

Vibroengineering PROCEDIA

  © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. OCT 2016, VOL. 8. ISSN 2345-0533 17 
The study of the process of the development of marine 
robotics 
Anton Zhilenkov 
Saint Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics,  
Saint Petersburg, Russia 
E-mail: zhilenkovanton@gmail.com 
(Received 25 June 2016; accepted 27 June 2016) 
Abstract. Most projects of similar research are applied and become known mainly due to their 
commercial implementation. Undoubtedly, in the modern realities, it is more and more difficult 
to conduct scientific research regardless of the urgent production problems. Thus, cooperation of 
commercial structures, research institutions, military departments, etc. is required for the 
successful implementation of most projects. Certainly, the results of such projects can be 
effectively used by all the organizations listed above. For example, almost any innovation in the 
surveillance and search, under-ice and other studies in one form or another can be used for 
strategic or tactical military purposes. 
Keywords: experimental autonomous, oceanographic research, autonomous underwater vehicles. 
1. Introduction 
In the scientific surroundings, the statements that Oceanographic researches are, in many 
aspects, more complex and challenging, even compared to space research are not rare [1]. Now, 
in the middle of the second decade of the XXI century, there is no doubt that the study of the 
oceans has become an issue of global importance, covering economic, industrial, social, defense 
and many other activities and interests of the society in the modern world. We are seeing the 
necessity of expanding the boundaries of Oceanographic research, increasing the number of types 
and growth of quality of measurements in the water column as well as their systematization, 
increasing of the depths of research, which is caused by the growing necessity of sea bottom 
studies, etc. 
2. Historical development. Autonomous underwater vehicles 
In the present, article the author gives an overview of the historical development of underwater 
technical vehicles and dwell on the modern representatives of this class of vehicles – Autonomous 
(Unmanned) Underwater Vehicles (AUV). The authors touch upon the structure of this class of 
vehicles, problems to be decided, and perspective directions of their development, cover scientific 
materials basing mainly on the data about the benefits of the application of the vehicles in a 
number of tasks of narrow focus. 
The development of the AUV was largely aimed at the decision of the review-search problems: 
exploration of the sea-bottom by means of echolocation, photos and video shootings, search for 
underwater objects, making of different measurements. Subsequently, thanks to the progress in 
the development of the AUV, these tasks have expanded from search to exploration and analysis. 
Currently, there is a rapid development in the use of AUV for geological exploration, monitoring 
and examination of places of gas and oil production, search and control of the state of different 
objects of underwater communications, including oil and gas pipelines and various underwater 
cable routes. In some countries, one of the priority directions of the use of the AUV is ecological 
research. 
But, historically, combat torpedoes can be considered the first samples of AUV [10].  
The first man to express the idea of a self-propelled sea shell was an Italian engineer Giovanni 
da Fontana [2] who lived in the early fifteenth century. For the first time the term “torpedo” as a 
sea munition was used by Robert Fulton in the early nineteenth century. In the nineteenth century, 
THE STUDY OF THE PROCESS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARINE ROBOTICS.  
ANTON ZHILENKOV 
18 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. OCT 2016, VOL. 8. ISSN 2345-0533  
many engineers developed different projects of underwater self-propelled shells. In 1865, the 
Russian Inventor I. F. Alexandrovsky proposed “a self-propelled torpedo”. 
The first samples of torpedoes (Whitehead torpedoes) were developed by the Englishman 
Robert Whitehead (1866). On the 29th of May 1877, during the battle in the Packocha Bay, the 
torpedo was first used by the British Navy as weapon, but to no avail – the goal managed to evade 
being hit. 
In Russia, for the first time, torpedoes were successfully applied during the Russo-Turkish war 
of 1877-1878. On January 14, 1878, during the sea battle of the Russian Navy conducted under 
the leadership of Admiral Makarov against the Turkish Navy in the district of Batum, two boats, 
“Chesma” and “Sinop”, released from the destroyer “Grand Duke Constantine”, sank the Turkish 
steamer “Intibah”. Torpedoes were also actively used during the first Russo-Japanese war. 
By the way, during the First World war, torpedoes were used by the warring sides not only at 
sea but also on rivers, for example, on the Danube. 
These devices evolved in each generation and modification, subsequently becoming the 
prototype of a number of AUV of civilian use. Their engines originally used compressed air 
(before the First World war), then they developed into steam and gas devices with the turbine or 
piston engine, where liquid fuel is combusted in oxygen and water. After that, there were attempts 
to use powder engines where gases of burning gunpowder rotates the shaft of the engine or turbine. 
Then, constructors came to the idea of using electric propeller engines, battery-operated – this 
construction is most widely used both in military and in the civilian sphere. 
Jet engines have become another type of AUV. They do not have rowing screws and use jet 
thrust (torpedo “Squall”), which allow to obtain the velocity of the torpedo of over 200 nodes. 
However, each engine has its advantages and disadvantages. Thus, the necessity for innovation in 
this area is still relevant. 
In addition to the type of engine and propulsion engine, active search for new engineering 
solutions were in the field of guidance of torpedoes at the target. The first torpedoes were unguided. 
Further, by way of guidance there appeared the following modifications: straight moving, 
maneuvering, passive homing, active homing, and remote-controlled. 
Straight moving torpedoes moved along a predetermined straight path, staying on course 
thanks to a magnetic compass or gyroscopic sub-compass. Maneuvering torpedoes moved in the 
area of the suspected target according to a given program. Passive homing torpedoes, as a rule, 
were aimed at a target by the noise or change of the water properties in a Wake trail (the first 
torpedoes were acoustic torpedoes G7e “Zaunkönig” (German, “The Wren”); they were applied 
by German submarines in World War II). 
It is known that two submarines of Germany, T5-U-972 in December 1943 and U-377 in 
January 1944, (a similar case is known about the American submarine “SSN-589”) were destroyed 
by their own torpedoes. The fact is that after the launch the acoustic system of a torpedo was aimed 
at the most intense sound source that could be heard at a distance of the first 400 meters, and this 
source could be the submarine itself. Thus, after making the shot, according to the instructions, 
the submarine immediately had to dive to a depth of 60 meters, keeping complete silence. 
Torpedoes with active homing guidance systems (Fig. 1) use on-Board sonar. Many modern 
anti-submarine and multi-purpose torpedoes are equipped with such systems. At the same time, 
there was an active development of the first homing systems, that could use yaw, or right and left 
circulation to follow the course and locate the target. 
 
Fig. 1. Homing electric torpedo [3]: 1 – guidance system; 2 – proximity fuse; 3 – contact fuses;  
4 – warhead; 5 – accumulator battery; 6 – control devices; 7 – electric engine 
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ANTON ZHILENKOV 
 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. OCT 2016, VOL. 8. ISSN 2345-0533 19 
There are also remote-controlled torpedoes (Fig. 2), in which the targeting is done by wire 
(fiber) coming from the ship or submarine. 
 
Fig. 2. Layout scheme of a torpedo [3]: 1 – guidance system; 2 – proximity fuse, acoustic and 
electromagnetic; 3 – contact fuses; practical torpedo – recording device); 4 – charger fighting  
compartment (on a practical torpedo – a means of providing buoyancy); 5 – disposable batteries  
(on a practical torpedo – reusable); 6 – course management system; 7 – the electronic unit;  
8 – telecontrol system torpedo coil; 9 – electric engine; 10 – towable coil remote control system 
There was also the evolution of warheads and the systems that reduce noise. Warheads can be 
divided into those that use contact or non-contact fuses. Contactless systems are of great interest: 
various kinds of sensors to detect the target were developed for them. They usually were induction 
sensors that responded to the change of the vertical component of the magnetic field observed at 
the approach to the housing target. 
In general, the main objectives of the development of the first AUV for combat purposes were 
distance, speed, quietness, the ability of homing at unsighted shooting, detection and target 
recognition in the approach thereto, the adaptive system that separates the useful signal against 
the background noise, etc. It is obvious that all the results achieved when solving the problems, 
were subsequently of great use in developing research types of AUV. In fact, the very structure of 
most of the AUV has remained almost unchanged and has retained the layout inherent in the 
torpedoes (Fig. 3), with the only exception that instead of warhead they carry scientific research 
equipment. 
 
Fig. 3. Structure of AUV “Gavia” [4] 
The main results of the development of AUV in the second half of the twentieth century. 
We can say that until 1970 there were the initial surveys in the questions of what problems can 
be solved with the help of AUV. AUV development began in the 1960’s, and although a few 
models were built, there is no any detailed publication about their success left. The development 
of the first AUV was aimed at solving a very narrow task, mainly collecting data. After the Second 
World War in technical terms, the main development followed the way of copying and attempts 
improve the captured samples technology, developed in Germany. The initial significant 
development of the technologies of AUV and study of their potential occurred from about 1970 
to 1980. At the applied physics laboratory of the University of Washington made such apparatuses 
as SPURV (Special Purpose Underwater Research Vehicle) and UARS (Unmanned Arctic 
Research Vehicle), the drafting of which began in 1957. UARS was one of the first AUV, which 
performed part of the work in under-ice space. In 1979 the apparatus SPURV II was taken on the 
balance of the United States Navy. It was an improved version of the first model: its autonomy 
speed and diving depth were increased.  
Since 1960’s the engineering laboratory of marine systems the University of New Hampshire 
THE STUDY OF THE PROCESS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARINE ROBOTICS.  
ANTON ZHILENKOV 
20 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. OCT 2016, VOL. 8. ISSN 2345-0533  
(present-day Institute of the Autonomous undersea systems) under the auspices of the Pentagon 
had been developing a series of machines EAVE (Experimental Autonomous), which were created 
as cheap remote-controlled underwater devices. The main purpose of these machines was the 
inspection of subsea pipelines. The first model EAVE Free Swimmer II had mission planner, an 
acoustic navigation system, and fiber optic cable for communication with the operator. It came 
back and found the place of docking itself. 
It should be noted that even at that time there were rather successful attempts to create devices 
capable of planning the route, implementing visual navigation along pipe line with automatic 
system of maneuvering and location control. 
 
Fig. 4. АUV SPURV (USA) 
 
 
Fig. 5. Cable-controlled undersea recovery  
vehicle CURV 
In 1979, the French AUV “Epaulard” performed geological studies of one of the districts of 
the Pacific Ocean to explore the deposits of ferromanganese nodules. This was the first application 
of AUV for such purposes. 
In the 1970-1980s, there was the development of the project of CURV (Cable-controlled 
Undersea Recovery Vehicle). The first prototype of CURV appeared in the early 60-ies. It was a 
remote-controlled underwater device with a camera; the device was used for search and inspection 
of sunken bombs and shells at depths up to 1000 meters. In 1973, thanks to model CURV III it 
appeared to be possible to locate and rescue the crew of the sunken off the coast of Ireland the 
submarine Pisces III. 
The devices of this series had a small length of about one meter and were the basis for the 
subsequent creation of the RUWS (Remote Unmanned Work). The devices of this class operated 
at depths up to 6 kilometers, and the manipulator arm with seven degrees of freedom could take 
into account the compression force of the control by the human operator. Camera CURV III  
(Fig. 5) is used up to this day. 
In our country, the active development of similar AUV can also be attributed to the early 1970s 
of the last century. NGOs “Yuzhmorgeologiya” located in Gelendzhik, Feb RAS and the NGO 
Dalmorgeologia” in Nakhodka took part in this work. From 1974 to 1992 the country has 
developed such types of AUV as “SKAT”, SKAT-geo (Fig. 6), “L-1”, “L-2”, “MT-88”, 
“Tiflonus”, “MT-GEO”, “R-1” and “R-2”. Then, it was followed with a number of international 
projects.  
“Scat” was the first AUV of its kind, developed in the USSR. It made it possible to conduct 
research at depths of up to 300 m. The first development of the domestic AUV allowed to get 
experience that became the basis for subsequent developments, which included the first AUV for 
deep-water studies like “L-1” (working depth up to 2000 meters) and “L-2” (working depth up to 
6000 meters). It should be noted that working depth of diving up to 6000 meters is sufficient to 
reach the 98 % of the bottom of the world ocean of the Earth. These devices were the first modular 
AUV that allowed people to work at such significant depths. 
In 1982, AUV “L-2” (Fig. 7) performed inspection work in the area of the death of the nuclear 
THE STUDY OF THE PROCESS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARINE ROBOTICS.  
ANTON ZHILENKOV 
 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. OCT 2016, VOL. 8. ISSN 2345-0533 21 
submarine “K-8”, which was at a depth of about 5,000 meters. During that work, more than 80 
dives were made and tens of thousands of panoramic images of the surveyed area were taken. 
In five years, with the same apparatus, search and inspection were carried out in the place of 
crash of the submarine “K-219” near the Bermuda Islands. Then, using the “L-2” rescuers 
managed to not only find the scene of the accident but collect more than forty thousand 
photographs. And then, in two years, the apparatus participated in the examination of the sunken 
submarine Komsomolets in the Norwegian sea. 
 
Fig. 6. АUV “SKAT-geo” [4] 
 
Fig. 7. АUV “L-2”. Work in North Atlantic, in the 
area of the death of NSM “K-8” 1982 [4] 
3. Conclusions 
The implementation of such projects requires solving a set of problems, as AUV projected in 
their framework has to inspect objects with a length of hundreds of kilometers [6-9]. Accordingly, 
the inspection devices need to solve problems of gathering information from a variety of vision 
systems, processing of this information, object recognition, intelligent control. As a rule, they are 
required to examine not only the condition of the pipeline, but also to collect data of environmental 
studies in place of its location. With the increasing relevance of the task of inspection of means of 
underwater communication, the demand for corresponding AUV grows too, as there are no 
alternatives to these devices. 
References 
[1] Ageev M. D., Kiselev L. V. There are exotics in marine technologies. Bulletin of the Russian Academy 
of Sciences, Vol. 75, Issue 8, 2005. 
[2] Taras A. History of Submarines. p. 205. 
[3] http://moremhod.info/index.php/library-menu/16-morskaya-tematika/192 
[4] http://www.imtp.febras.ru/ 
[5] http://www.nosc.mil/robots/ 
[6] Zhilenkov A., Chernyi S. Investigation performance of marine equipment with specialized 
information technology. Procedia Engineering, Vol. 100, 2015, p. 1247-1252. 
[7] Chernyi S., Zhilenkov A. Modeling of complex structures for the ship’s power complex using 
XILINX system. Transport and Telecommunication, Vol. 16, Issue 1, 2015, p. 73-82. 
[8] Nyrkov A., Sokolov S., Zhilenkov A., Chernyi S. Complex modeling of power fluctuations 
stabilization digital control system for parallel operation of gas-diesel generators. IEEE NW Russia 
Young Researchers in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Conference (EIConRusNW), Saint 
Petersburg, Russia, 2016, p. 636-640. 
[9] Nyrkov A., Sokolov S., Zhilenkov A., Chernyi S., Mamunts D. Identification and tracking problems 
in qualimetry inspections in distributed control systems of drilling platforms. IEEE NW Russia Young 
Researchers in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Conference (EIConRusNW), Saint Petersburg, 
Russia, 2016, p. 641-645. 


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