According to the Science and Technology Daily, a research team at Dalian Jiaotong University has spent many years working on this project. By integrating technologies such as electromagnetic detection, sonar sensing, and underwater robot control, they have overcome key challenges in intelligent cable detection and post-installation technology. They have developed an intelligent cable detection system with complete independent intellectual property rights. This system fills a gap in collaborative operations under complex marine conditions and breaks foreign monopolies.
According to the report, in terms of application promotion, the team is actively promoting the core technology to go abroad. They are deepening international cooperation with marine engineering markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. They are also accelerating the integration of China’s independently developed intelligent cable detection solutions into the global marine engineering system, thereby continuously enhancing the international competitiveness of domestic marine equipment.
On July 5th, the Hong Kong-based newspaper The South China Morning Post reported that this move signifies China's strategic effort to challenge foreign dominance in the field of marine infrastructure maintenance. It also accelerates the process by which Chinese marine engineering equipment becomes more accessible to the world.
Due to multiple seabed environmental factors such as sediment cover, turbid seawater, and complex seabed topography, the actual location of submarine cables often deviates from the pre-set routes. This poses extremely high requirements for the stability of equipment. To ensure that underwater robots do not get lost or experience unstable operation, the team has innovatively combined electromagnetic detection technology with sonar detection technology to create an intelligent cable detection system.
During the construction process, electromagnetic sensors are responsible for capturing characteristic signals of submarine cables and quickly identifying target cables. The sonar system, meanwhile, collects information about the seabed topography and surrounding environment, enabling continuous tracking and spatial positioning of the cable routes. Through the integration of multi-source information and intelligent analysis, the system can accurately determine the location, direction, and burial status of the cables, providing reliable data support for subsequent construction activities.
This is like giving a robot two eyes, complementary in function. Sonar scans the general location of sea cables in murky waters; electromagnetic sensors precisely lock onto the exact direction of the cable. When combined, even if buried by mud and sand, they can control positioning error to less than 5%. Researcher Chen Shaohua of Dalian Transportation University's Smart Sensing and Control Technology Research Team explained.
In response to the complex power frequency interference at the bottom of the sea, in 2022, the team developed a phase cancellation technology and a wavelet denoising algorithm, establishing a DSP+ARM collaborative processing platform. “We eliminated ‘noise’ at the algorithmic level, capturing the faint cable signals, thereby increasing the robot’s decision-making response speed by 40%,” explained Meng Qingxin. The robot can operate continuously for 24 hours at depths of up to 300 meters, and it remains stable even in complex ocean currents.
The report indicates that this technology has been successfully applied to several national key marine engineering projects. In 2023, the team was involved in the construction of the main cable burial project for offshore wind power plants in Guangdong, achieving an industry-leading burial efficiency of 11.6 meters per minute, providing strong support for the construction of large-scale offshore wind power plants in China.
In terms of technological upgrades, the team is focusing on developing key technologies for precise detection of deep-sea cables. To address the common issue in the industry, where the positioning accuracy is insufficient for cables buried more than 3 meters deep, they are developing a new generation of ultra-depth detection systems. This will further enhance the ability to identify and locate submarine cables under complex sea conditions and in deeply buried environments.
Meanwhile, the team is also accelerating the development of an intelligent visual operation system. Through real-time 3D animations, the position, direction, and burial status of the submarine cables relative to the cable laying robots can be displayed. This enables dynamic perception and visual management during underwater construction. It allows construction workers to better understand the overall operation situation, further improving the efficiency and safety levels of marine engineering construction.
