This must be the ultimate gadget for those operating underwaters. We’re looking at the UT-1 Ultra Trencher, the biggest subsea robot that is being used to install oil/gas pipes and probably telecommunication cables. Built by Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) for £10 million and with the dimensions of a medium condo (7.8 x 7.8 x 5.6 meters) the robot is able to move with a 2 to 3 knots speed and can trench pipelines with 1 meter in diameter.

“Weighting 50 tonnes and the size of a small house, it is designed to bury largediameter oil and gas pipelines laid on the ocean floor. It does this by ‘flying’ down up to a mile deep below the surface using powerful propellers. It then lands over the pipeline and deploys a pair of ‘jet swords’ either side of the pipe which inject high pressure water to ‘fluidise’ the surface. Burying the pipelines protects them from fishing, shipwrecks and natural currents. This enables oil and gas to be safely transported from the offshore fields to land to provide secure energy supplies.”

For more detailed specs here’s the PDF file.

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