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water acoustic communication, as well as a multidisciplinary field for new technology. With the development
of the marine economy, human activity in the ocean is increasing, which is also accompanied by more and
more marine accidents, resulting in huge loss of life and property. Every year, hundreds of ships sink glob-
ally, with occasional submarine sinking and aircraft crashing into the sea, among other events. However, high
seabed pressures, poor visibility and complex environments make it difficult for general equipment to com-
plete underwater emergency search and rescue. Due to the large water area, extensive searches are extremely
difficult, and only professional divers can dive to a certain depth. Professional divers’ underwater vision and
the ability to search for a fixed location are slightly better than that of current underwater robots. However,
the particularity of such search and rescue and the complexity of underwater environment are great psycho-
logical tests for divers. Employing divers as the main search force is time-consuming, high-risk and laborious,
and requires a large number of divers to work alternately in pairs or teams. In the complex and changeable
ocean environment, how to reduce accidents and ensure the safety of people’s lives and property are some of
the key issues. Feasible and effective underwater search and rescue technology requires the development of in-
telligent robot system with precise control performance and full functions that can quickly search salvageable
equipment to determine the cause of the accident. Joochim et al. described the design and development of a
[3]
small unmanned submarine designed to explore the underwater alternative to human work . The vehicle is
equipped with powerful underwater probe sensors to collect underwater data, brushless DC motors for con-
trolling direction, and real-time camera monitoring. Choi et al. designed a remote control vehicle (ROV) for
[4]
visual inspection of harbor structures . The ROV is equipped with a vision system, a navigation system, and
a propeller for inspection tasks. The ROV can be operated manually to approach the target structure and ob-
tain high-quality images for inspection, which provides much help for underwater harbor safety. Underwater
robots are important carriers for deep-sea exploration resources and equipment, often equipped with different
detection sensors for compex and dangerous underwater environments. Zhang et al. developed a 6000-meter
[5]
depth rating ROV for marine scientific research . With advanced technology, this ROV demonstrates the
development of modern ROV equipment, making the exploration and development of deep-sea resources a
reality.

Figure 1 presents the schematic diagram of an ROV searching and salvaging the target, which can be quickly
deployed and recovered. The underwater robot can be continuously powered by a small generator. The oper-
ator can conduct a continuous search at a certain area from the surface, which is safe and reliable. If the ROV
is entangled in rope, the diver can dive along the umbilical cord for rescue, which relieves the diver’s pressure.
Yue et al. put forward a new navigation and positioning system, which measures the distance through un-
[6]
derwater acoustic communication and USBL . It can be used for remote positioning and guidance of AUV
to exchange information. Additionally, according to the successful experience of relevant rescue, it is prelim-
inarily considered that it is feasible to use towed sonar to detect the range and find the suspected locations,
and then use the underwater vehicle equipped with front sonar and ultra-short baseline to conduct a targeted
investigation on these locations. Finally, the professional divers salvage the target.

The cabled ROV designed in this project for maritime search and rescue is a new generation of micro-sized
cabled ROV. The ROV features a frame structure and modular design, offering several high- and low-speed
expansion interfaces. Additionally, it can be equipped with auxiliary cameras according to different demands,
sonar, single function or multifunctional manipulators, underwater positioning systems, altimeters, and other
sensors and tools to meet different tasks that are suitable for a variety of water environments. Figure 2 shows
the 3D rendering of the small search and rescue ROV designed for this project.