"Ulyx", the new autonomous French submarine to explore the abyss

The “Ulyx” submarine -

• With

  Ulyx

  , France joins the closed circle of countries with autonomous submarines to explore the abyss.

• This concentrate of technology makes it possible to map and photograph the depths unknown to scientists

• Inaugurated this Friday,

  Ulyx will

  carry out its first missions in 2022.

What is yellow, 4.5 meters long, 2.7 tonnes heavy and a real technological feat?

Its little name is not Jonathan, but 

the new French autonomous submarine capable of exploring the abyss and "pushing back the frontiers of knowledge", unveiled on Friday by the French Research Institute for the exploitation of the sea (Ifremer).

"Little is known about the ocean floor, the abyss and the biodiversity found there, and since we do not know much about it, it is difficult to protect it", declared François Houllier, Chairman and CEO of the Ifremer, in front of the machine inaugurated in one of the institute's centers in La-Seyne-sur-Mer in the Var.

will

possible to map the abyss and take samples up to 6,000 meters deep.

"The abyss which represents half of our planet"

This type of autonomous submarine of the French Oceanographic Fleet, called AUV ("autonomous underwater vehicle"), has so far only gone to 2,700 meters deep, unlike manned submarines or remote-controlled robots. .

"There is a real expectation from the scientific community to be able to further explore the abysses [more than 2,000 meters deep] which represent half of our planet and which are still very little explored and very little known", emphasizes Sophie Arnaud-Haond , researcher in evolutionary ecology at Ifremer.

Long autonomy

According to this scientist, who will use the data from the submarine, “having a machine as reactive as

[…] capable of simultaneously seeing, hearing and touching is for us a major breakthrough that will help us. make it possible to facilitate the search for new ecosystems or even new types of ecosystems in the abyssal plain ”marine.

With an autonomy of 48 hours, this machine has a dual function.

At an altitude of around ten meters,

can map up to 50 square kilometers of seabed in one outing and therefore make it possible to locate areas of interest, such as hydrothermal vents, places of life where the magma from the center of the sea. Earth meets water from the depths.

First missions in 2022

Once these areas have been identified, the submarine can decide to move closer to photograph them using a camera, sounders and acoustic sonars, making images with a resolution close to those of the human eye.

"The technical challenge was to find the solution to a complex equation": to fit sensors, probes, batteries and stabilization system into a machine that can withstand the pressure of the depths, explains project manager Lorenzo Brignone.

Our Science file

This project, launched in 2016, allows France to become the fourth country to obtain this type of device, joining the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom.

The first

missions

are scheduled for 2022, after several test dives.

Society

Toulon: The submarine "Pearl", victim of a fire "will be repaired" according to Florence Parly

Planet

Mediterranean: Researchers unravel the mystery of the incredible voyage of bluefin tuna

• Mediterranean

• Technology

• Ocean

• Sea

• Submarine

• Science

• Planet