1P1-H05 Development of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for Seabed Resource Exploration "YUMEIRUKA"(Underwater Robot and Mechatronics (2))

Abstract

Most maritime nation now focuses on the seabed mineral resources which are buried in one's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Of course, Japan is no exception because it is a natural resource-poor country. But the its EEZ area is sixth largest and its volume is forth largest in the world. Basic on such background, Japan strongly needs new underwater vehicles which can work in order to contribute seabed resource exploration. So JAMSTEC has been developing new AUV "YUMEIRUKA" specific to that. In this paper, its outline and some key technologies are explained.