Abstract: An automatic depth regulation system uses changes in water pressure to automatically control the depth of an underwater vehicle. The system uses a piston chamber having a piston that is movably disposed within the chamber and mechanically linked to the vehicle's fins. The bottom of the piston is subjected to pressure from the ambient environment through which the vehicle travels. The chamber contains a compressible medium at a preselected pressure above the piston. A spring is also above the piston in the chamber. Changes in ambient pressure on the bottom of the piston causes the piston to move within the chamber, thereby rotating the fins to adjust the depth of the vehicle to the desired, preselected, depth. The desired depth is determined by the pressure and spring force exerted on the top of the piston in opposition to the ambient pressure.

Abstract: An underwater vehicle includes a plurality of releasable panel members that are initially in a storage state in which the releasable panel members form a closed housing and the underwater vehicle is neutrally buoyant, an actuatable effector that is retained in the closed housing. The effector has an anchor and a positively buoyant upper unit opposite the anchor. When the plurality of releasable panel members are released to open the closed housing, the effector is separable from the releasable panel members and maintained in a vertically downward direction by the anchor and the positively buoyant upper unit.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus determining a position of a submersible vehicle within a body of water are provided. A method comprises determining an initial position of the vehicle while the vehicle is at or near a water surface. The method further comprises coupling the vehicle and a base node to a weight and determining a position of the base node once the base node and vehicle have reached the floor of the body of water using acoustic modems of the vehicle and a surface vessel to aid in calculating the position as they descend, and acoustically transferring the at rest position on the seafloor from the vehicle to the node. The method further comprises decoupling the vehicle from the node and weight and determining a position of the vehicle based on the position of the base node and acoustic signals exchanged between acoustic modems of the vehicle and the base node.

Abstract: A pair of travel rails (46) each having an upper surface and a lower surface are laid to extend from on the land (44) into the water (45). Main tires (12) are rotatably disposed on opposite sides of a vehicle body (1), so that they are located between the upper and lower surfaces of the travel rails (46), and so that they abut against the lower surfaces of the travel rails (46) during traveling of the vehicle body on the land. Auxiliary tires (13) are disposed on upper portions of the main tires (12) to abut against the main tires (12). The auxiliary tires (13) are adapted to abut against the upper portions of the travel rails (46) under influence of the buoyancy of the vehicle body (1) during traveling of the vehicle body in the water. Thus, the travel vehicle body (1) can continuously travel on the land and in the water by rotatively driving the main tires (12) to move the travel vehicle body (1) along the travel rails (46).

Abstract: A device for carrying out works under water includes a twin hull submarine (1,2) which can be combined with a number of specially adapted cargo modules (12), in which the twin hull submarine between its two hulls (1,2) is provided with a cargo holder (15) for carrying cargo modules in the compartment between the two hulls (1,2). This provides a modularized system for subsea operations, whereby a twin hull submarine, in combination with a number of specially adapted cargo modules, forms a device for carrying out various tasks under water.