The vehicle can drive autonomously over complex deep-sea geological conditions and overcomes the challenge of deploying and recovering heavy-duty equipment at sea.
From July 25 to August 3, 2021, Kaituo 1 (Pioneer 1), the deep-sea heavy-duty operations mining vehicle developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s ocean engineering team under the Ministry of Education’s integrated research platform, carried aboard the Xiang Yang Hong 03 research vessel, successfully completed a 1,300-meter-class deep-sea trial in the Xisha waters of the South China Sea. Without any human operation, Kaituo 1 can follow pre-set programs to trace out an S shape one moment and a J shape the next on the seabed. Beyond driving autonomously on the seabed, it can also autonomously perceive the surrounding mining environment.
In this sea trial, the Kaituo 1 deep-sea mining vehicle was deployed to the seabed at multiple depths in different sea areas, including 108 meters, 246 meters, 968 meters and 1,305 meters. It successfully completed tests of at-sea deployment and recovery of heavy-duty equipment, seabed path planning and autonomous driving, and seabed ore collection and sediment sampling, achieving breakthroughs in key technologies for developing deep-sea heavy-duty operations equipment, including deep-water high-power hydraulics, high-voltage electrical power supply, signal transmission and intelligent control, automatic attitude control during underwater deployment and recovery, and seabed driving and ore collection.
Using newly developed intelligent autonomous seabed driving technology, the Kaituo 1 mining vehicle achieved intelligent autonomous driving in complex deep-sea geological conditions at 1,305 meters for the first time. Through precise underwater positioning and closed-loop feedback control, the intelligent control system steered the vehicle in real time and automatically, enabling it to drive and operate autonomously on the seabed along any pre-planned large-curvature curved path with no human operation.
During the trial, the mining vehicle repeatedly traced out the letters “SJ” on the seabed in the Xisha waters, performing large-curvature curved driving over complex terrain and small-radius pivot turns, demonstrating an outstanding level of intelligent control and strong seabed operating capability.
To solve the challenge of safely deploying and recovering heavy-duty equipment at sea, the project team developed innovative technology for automatic control of the vehicle’s motion attitude in the water. Through real-time allocation of thruster forces, the vehicle stably holds its heading during long deployment and recovery operations in deep water, effectively reducing torsional loads on the opto-electric composite cable. Despite adverse conditions in the trial area, with 2-meter wave heights and force 7 gusts, the heavy-duty equipment was deployed and recovered safely.
The Kaituo 1 deep-sea mining vehicle is designed to work seabed polymetallic nodules. It is 5.6 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and 2.0 meters high, weighs 9.0 tonnes in air, and has capabilities including seabed operating environment perception, intelligent autonomous control and high-efficiency hydraulic ore collection. The successful sea trial marks an important step toward engineering application and intelligent operation in the development of deep-sea heavy-duty mining vehicles.
