Toward automation of thin optical-fiber submarine cable installation

This paper describes a ROV-based automated cable-laying system that can automatically payout a thin optical-fiber submarine cable while keeping balance with the ground speed and adjusting the degree of cable tautness. This system has been developed to reduce the physical and mental burdens on the ROV operator(s) and to speed up the construction of DONET (Dense Oceanfloor Network System for Earthquakes and Tsunamis). Through several field experiments and the first mission, we became convinced that the automated cable-laying system can accomplish these purposes. In this paper, we first overview the automated cable-laying system and then present some results of the experiments and the first mission. Lastly, we touch the issue associated with the complete automation of the cable-laying operation: from the starting point to the installation of the cable bobbin at the destination.