The present and future capabilities of deep ROVs

The following paper will present an overview of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and, in particular, their use in the deep ocean, which includes dept hs beyond 10,000 feet. Although the intent of the paper is to address tethe red, free-flying vehicles, the categories of deep towed vehicles and autono mous underwater vehicles (AUVs) will also be included for completeness. And , to properly discuss the state-of-the-art in such deep ocean systems, thei r capabilities in the depths less than 10,000 ft will also be addressed. An attempt to project their uses in the early stages of the next millennium w ill also be made.