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T his being our Annual Subsea Vehicles edition, we sought insights and opinions from several leaders on the frontlines of unmanned underwater system technology, courtesy of a virtual “roundtable”, starting on page 22. The technology to put machines in places that humans can’t — or shouldn’t — go is maturing rapidly, driv- en by operation mandates from military, commercial and scientific sectors. But while the technology has certainly come a long way, there is still much work to be done to real- ize the full efficiency and cost-effective benefits.

Power: Almost universally leaders in the field admit that improved power density and reliability is the number one challenge in tapping the full potential of unmanned underwater systems and bringing them faster into mainstream operations. Bob

Anderson, President & Co-Founder of OceanServer, positions this succinctly: “One recurring technical challenge that affects all types of AUVs in most applications is the desire for higher density battery power to enable longer duration missions.

Rechargeable Li-Ion provides the best and safest all round solution, and has made grad- ual improvements over the past 10 years. No replacement technology is on the near-term horizon, but several emerging technologies, primarily driven by military requirements, should eventually enable commercial subsea vehicles to achieve increased mission dura- tions at acceptable costs.”

Through this and other challenges, unmanned vehicles are increasingly finding their way into the commercial sector. This month Claudo Paschoa, our correspon- dent in Brazil, discusses with Marie-Laure Charles, the MD of ECA America Latina, her company’s penetration into the lucrative but challenging Brazilian offshore ener- gy and gas market. (see story page 38).

In addition, Alex Bynum of Saft discusses his company’s effort to improve battery performance for UUV use. (see story page 44).

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