''Épaulard'' is a French
remotely operated underwater vehicle
A remotely operated underwater vehicle (technically ROUV or just ROV) is a tethered underwater mobile device, commonly called ''underwater robot''.
Definition
This meaning is different from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the a ...
of the
Ifremer
IFREMER (Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer; ) is an oceanographic institution in Brest, France.
Scope of works
Ifremer focuses its research activities in the following areas:
* Monitoring, use and enhancement of coa ...
. She was the first robotic submarine capable of taking photographs at a depth of 6000 metres. Built in 1980, ''Épaulard'' was decommissioned in 1991.
Design
''Épaulard'' was designed and built by
ECA Group[III.5.- PHOTOGRAPHIES CONTINUES DU FOND MARIN](_blank)
Ifremer
IFREMER (Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer; ) is an oceanographic institution in Brest, France.
Scope of works
Ifremer focuses its research activities in the following areas:
* Monitoring, use and enhancement of coa ...
She was teleoperated from a support ship by means of acoustic signals.
While the submarine herself displaced three tonnes, the entire system would use up 35m² of deck space and weight 20 tonnes; such systems were installed on a number of Ifremer ships such as
''Noroît'',
''Suroît'',
''Atalante'' or
''Jean Charcot''.
In 1983, she was upgraded with a vertical propeller and a remote TV system with acoustic broadcast of images.
Career
Starting in 1981, ''Épaulard'' was used for the study of
nodules and shipwrecks on the Pacific seafloor.
She was decommissioned in 1991, having performed 200 missions.
Citations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epaulard (1831)
Robotic submarines
Remotely operated underwater vehicles