Market Trends of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Industry
Civil Segment is Expected to Experience Substantial Growth During the Forecast Period
The civil segment of the market is expected to grow during the forecast period, owing to the increase in the offshore oil and gas sector and undersea surveys for research purposes. Sectors such as oceanography, hydrology research, scientific exploration, hydrographic survey, emergency fire monitoring, and control in oil rigs specifically drive the market. Automating the underwater vehicle so that there would be little to no human guidance lessens the risk of human error, which makes underwater surveys more efficient and less risky. In November 2022, Blue Ocean Seismic Services announced that it had finished a series of passive and active seismic trials on the autonomous ocean bottom seismic robotic vehicle technology, which proved the quality of seismic data collection. The company is expecting to start pre-commercial trials of its marine swarm robotic technology during the second half of the year 2023. In January 2023, Japan-based Kawasaki Heavy Industries, along with France-based TotalEnergies, completed its joint offshore verification test measuring the electrical potential of subsea pipelines using an AUV. This AUV, known as SPICE (Subsea Precise Inspector with Close Eyes) and developed by Kawasaki, is expected to be the first AUV with a robotic arm. It achieved stable pipe-tracking performance during its verification test in 2020. Despite the increase in alternative energy sources, the demand for oil and gas is increasing, and a higher number of deep-sea explorations are commissioned, leading to a rise in demand for autonomous systems to be developed for this purpose. For instance, in November 2021, the UK's National Oceanography Center (NOC) unveiled the new autonomous UUVs class vehicles as part of its Oceanids program. These submarines are expected to cater to offshore deep-sea operations while maintaining improved safety and cost-efficiency. The developments above and the increase in demand for AUVs in different civil sectors will result in the growth of the civil segment of the market during the forecast period.
Asia-Pacific is Expected to Register the Highest CAGR during the Forecast Period
One of the major contributing factors to the growth of the market in the Asia-Pacific region is the tension rising between the neighboring countries in the region. It resulted in the countries increasing their defense spending to upgrade their defense and military capabilities. China is demonstrating its dominance in the sea, and countries in the region found China-origin autonomous underwater vehicles in the ocean waters. It resulted in countries taking immediate steps to improve their unmanned underwater capabilities. In order to explore unmanned technologies and platforms in an extended way, in July 2021, the Indian Navy approved an 'unmanned road map.' It stated underwater domain awareness (UDA) is one of the critical areas for the country. Also, in April 2022, state-owned Mazagaon Dockyard Limited (MDL) announced its plans to develop Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (XLUUVs) and issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) to global firms to collaborate with it. The Japanese government is planning to develop an AUV with the capacity to explore the seabed at a depth of up to 7000 m.
Other countries in the region are also developing their AUVs. For instance, in May 2022, defense technology company Anduril announced that it is in negotiations with the Australian Defence Force for a USD 100 million co-funded design, development, and manufacturing program for XL-AUVs for the Royal Australian Navy. This project is assumed to be an attempt to counter China's dominance in the Indo-Pacific region. The XL-AUV is said to be affordable, autonomous, long-endurance, and multi-mission capable. The project is expected to take 3 years. Countries investing in increasing their naval capabilities and collaborating with companies and governments to develop new AUVs and AUV technologies will result in the growth of the market in the Asia-Pacific region during the forecast period.
