Undersea Vehicle Comparisons
| | DSVs | ROVs | AUVs |
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| Definition | Untethered, human-occupied, free-swimming, undersea vehicle | Tethered, self-propelled vehicle with direct real-time control | Untethered undersea vehicle, may be totally pre-programmed and equipped with decision aids to operate autonomously; or operation may be monitored and revised by control instructions transmitted by a data link. |
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| Depth | - Many to 1,000 m
- Few to 3,000 m
- Very few to 6,000 m
- One to 6,500 m
| - Very many to 500 m
- Many to 2,000 m
- Few to 3,000 m
- Few to 6,000 m
- One to 11,000 m
| - Several to 1,000 m
- Few to 3,000 m
- Very few to 6,000 m
|
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| Endurance - Time | Normally 8 hours, 24 to 72 hours max | Indefinite, depending on reliability and operator endurance | 6 to 48 hours of propulsion - may sit on bottom for extended periods |
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| Endurance - Range | < 50 km | Range Limited in distance from host ship by tether | 350 km demonstrated; near-term potential 1.500 km. depending on energy source |
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| Payload | I to 3 people, 45 to 450 kg (100 to 1,000 lbs); adaptable to tools and sensors | 45 to 1,590 kg (100 to 2,000 lb); adaptable to tools and sensors | 11 to 45 kg (25 to 100 lb); adaptable to measuring equipment. tools, and sensors |
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| Support - Ship | Most DSVs require large ship support; ship size varies with DSV size | Depends on ROV size and mission requirements | Medium-depends on AUV size and mission requirements |
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| Support - Handling Systems | Depend on DSV size | Depends on ROV size | Similar to ROVs, depending on AUV size |
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| Support - Navigation Systems | Relative to seafloor or surface vessel | Relative to surface/seafloor | Seafloor and inertial navigation |
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| Strengths | Direct human observation and manipulation | Real-time feedback to operator, long endurance capability, low cost per operating hour | Potential for automated operations, ability to operate with or without human command and without tether; minimum surface support, real-time feedback to controller |
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| Limitations | Large size, weight. and cost due to manned requirements, limited mission time, potential personal hazards | Tether cable potentially limits maneuverability and range | Energy supply, bandwidth of data link, capacity of internal recorders, limited work function complexity |
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