ABSTRACT
For many years, manned submersibles have been able to access deep ocean, albeit at some considerable expense and risk, and limited by weather on the surface. Now there is a concentration on unmanned or autonomous vehicles, which can be programmed or remotely controlled to carry out the tasks that had hitherto needed human interventions. This has become possible with the rapidly increasing computer power and expert systems’ data storage capacity and communication channels via water and satellite. Robotic developments have enabled tasks to be carried out in the marine environment and at ambient pressure, which previously had to be done by humans.
