Exail, RTsys and ABYSSA are collaborating in the CARMA (Mineral resources mapping by AUVs swarms) project. Co-funded by Bpifrance under the #France2030 initiative and designed to advance knowledge of deepwater, the CARMA project focuses on developing swarms of AUVs for efficient ocean floor mapping.

This project aims to develop an innovative solution for precise seabed surveying at great depths. The ongoing development involves creating a solution in which a multi-sensor underwater drone capable of diving to 3,000 m will coordinate multiple AUVs in order to increase the surface of the exploration area. The research program also includes the development of advanced collaborative navigation, acoustic communications, positioning and innovative mapping capabilities.

Exail will improve the capabilities of its deepwater AUV A18-D to serve as the leading AUV to guide the swarm. Improvements will enable navigation down to 3,000 m, at close altitude from the seabed over sloped terrains, and to accurately geolocate swarm’s acquired data. RTsys will extend the capabilities of its newly developed AUV COMET-3000 to dive to 3,000 m. Multiple units will be provided to act as followers, along with the development of an innovative launch and recovery system for the AUV swarm. ABYSSA will focus on developing exploration strategies for deepwater swarms of AUVS. Additionally, ABYSSA will process the magnetic data collected to map the magnetic anomalies on the seabed.

This project will result in the deployment of an operational demonstrator at sea in 2026, paving the way for future commercial phases. Concurrently, the project will carry out a preliminary study on extending exploration capacity to 6,000 m depth.

Learn more here.