A pioneering robotic submarine is to be the latest exhibit at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

The Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was first launched in 1981 for the maintenance of sub-sea telecommunications cables.

?The (Submerged Craft Assisting Repair and Burial), was the first in a new generation of ROV, changing forever the manner in which telecommunications cable networks could be repaired and maintained,? said BUEI Marketing and Events Coordinator, Clifton Webb

?Prior to its launch, the only way to retrieve cables buried in deep water was to use grappling devices which could take up to 50 attempts before success. was an entirely new concept. Equipped with cameras, robotic arms and jetting tools, cable could be much more simply located, grabbed and cut, allowing the cable to be drawn back to the surface for repairs on-board ship before being lowered back down to the seabed for burial by .? can bury cable to 0.6 metres, and is fitted with an active cable detection and tracking system.

The machine can operate at a depth 2,000 metres below sea level.

It is 2.7 metres long, 1.8 metres wide and 1.5 metres high and weighs 3.5 tonnes in the air. The vessel, donated by Global Marine Systems Limited, is currently parked near the BUEI entrance on East Broadway, cloaked in a protective covering.

Mr. Webb said the covering was necessary to protect its equipment from the weather and also to prevent vandals from damaging the equipment. The revolutionary ROV will remain under wraps until a glass enclosure is constructed for it to go on permanent display.