Deep-sea exploration: The MARTOC project selected by France 2030

Equipped with a range of complementary passive (fluxgate magnetometer and camera) and active (electromagnetic sensor and front-end sonar) sensors, the “COMET-3000” is a compact autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Designed to operate at great depths, it can be easily deployed from a surface vessel for mapping missions (measuring seafloor sediments) or threat surveillance (piracy).

The project was launched in February 2024 and will run for 3 years.For ENSTA Bretagne, it involves the recruitment of two research engineers.

A host of scientific challenges

There are many scientific hurdles to overcome when working on this type of project. Operating an autonomous vehicle at a depth of 3,000 meters is one challenge. Reliable positioning and optimal data collection is another. Finally, the cables laid at great depths are smaller and have no metal reinforcement, making them more difficult to identify with conventional sensors. The algorithms used must therefore be able to combine the data from the various sensors on board and process it efficiently.

In addition to designing the AUV and developing on-board technologies, the project also includes the development of a Launch And Recovery System (LARS). Installed on cable-laying vessels, the LARS will facilitate the launch and retrieval of the AUV.

The MARTOC project is a collaboration of 4 partners with complementary skills:

• RTSys is a company based in Caudan (Morbihan, France) and Singapore that develops high-tech solutions in the field of underwater robotics and acoustics.
• Orange Marine is a French company specializing in submarine cable laying. It represents more than 15% of the world’s cable-laying fleet. The company has already laid 264,000 km of fiber optic submarine cables.
• Mappem Geophysics is an innovative SME based in Finistère, specialized in marine electromagnetics (developing electromagnetic instruments and methods, site surveys, etc.).
• ENSTA Bretagne is a leading engineering school and research center located in Brest. Its training and research activities target the maritime, defense, transport and mobility, digital, energy and aerospace sectors.

ENSTA Bretagne is also involved in another “Grands Fonds Marins” (“Deep Sea”) project involving the creation of a deep sea distributed imager (ID-GD - Imageur Distribué Grands Fonds): a highly innovative concept involving a swarm of drones forming a vast acoustic antenna.