Automated Cable-Laying System: Contribution to DONET2 Installation

We have developed an automated cable-laying system that is operated with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and can automatically dispense a thin optical-fiber submarine cable at a rate that keeps pace with the ROV's ground speed. The use of an ROV allows to install a thin optical-fiber submarine cable on the deep seafloor accurately and safely. The ROV-based automated cable-laying system is being used successfully for the installation of the dense oceanfloor network system for earthquakes and tsunamis at off the Kii peninsula, Japan (called DONET2). In this paper, the contribution of the automated cable-laying system to the installation of DONET2 is described and some data to demonstrate this are presented. We first overview the automated cable-laying system and then present and discuss the results associated with the main issue. Lastly, some experimental knowledges obtained during DONET2 installation are described.