A brief review of recent progress on deep sea mining vehicle

Abstract

In worldwide, to overcome a future shortage of resource, deep-sea mining (DSM) system and technology have been developed for great commercial values. As a core component, deep-sea mining vehicle (DSMV) plays an important role in deep-sea operation. Based on the development in last decades, this paper presents the significance and challenge of DSMV and reviews the existing deep-sea mining system in sea trial. Firstly, the dynamic analysis of DSMV is reviewed, including dynamic modeling method, track characteristics and mining collection systems. The interaction considering deep-sea sediment to the tracked DSMV performance is discussed, which is well to understand the work mechanisms of DSMV. Then, for engineering application in deep-sea environment, key control strategies of DSMV are reviewed in the field of dynamic motion control, path control, navigation, and positioning control, which aims to adapt to deep-sea operation. In the end, some existing issues and future study priorities are proposed. This paper may provide a comprehension of the current research status of deep-sea mining system, which enlightens the future development for balancing technology and deep-sea ecological environment.