Strategic Robotic Systems (SRS) details how hybrid Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)/Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) platforms combine autonomous transit with tethered precision work in a single underwater vehicle. Read more >>
The concept is intended for missions that require both range and close inspection or intervention. An AUV operates untethered and follows a pre-programmed mission, making it suitable for wide-area surveys, long-duration sweeps, and mapping. However, it offers no real-time operator intervention or manipulation and has limited adaptability mid-mission. An ROV, by comparison, remains tethered and under direct operator control, supporting inspection, intervention, and manipulation, although tether length limits operational range, transit is slow, and a surface vessel must stay on station above the vehicle.
A hybrid AUV/ROV brings both operating modes together. During autonomous transit, the vehicle follows pre-programmed waypoints using onboard navigation, typically combining USBL, INS, and DVL, without requiring a surface tether or operator input. At the area of interest, the operator can take real-time control for inspection or intervention, with live video, precise maneuvering, and direct manipulation available.
In practice, a mission can involve launch from a surface vessel or shore, autonomous transit to the area of interest, tether deployment or hovering for close work, followed by an autonomous or operator-controlled return. SRS’s FUSION hybrid AUV/ROV is an example of this architecture, built to execute this type of multi-phase mission in a single deployment.
This approach can support port security, where a wide-area sweep for unknown threats is followed by close inspection of anything flagged, and mine countermeasures, where the vehicle can transit autonomously to a suspected minefield, conduct an autonomous identification pass, then transition to tethered operation for close-look confirmation of candidates and neutralization staging. Each phase requires a different operating mode, and the hybrid platform handles the transition between them within the same mission.
The same architecture can support infrastructure inspection over distance, including pipeline or subsea cable surveys where individual fault inspection points are miles apart. A hybrid vehicle can transit autonomously between those locations and switch to precision inspection mode at each site, without repositioning a surface vessel for every point. By combining autonomous transit with real-time precision work, a hybrid AUV/ROV addresses missions that would otherwise require two separate deployments.
To find out more information, read ‘What is a Hybrid AUV/ROV?’ here >>
