After a series of experiments and subglacial observations, a CAS underwater vehicle Arctic ARV (Autonomous and Remotely underwater Vehicle) has completed its mission in China's third Arctic scientific expedition. Now it is onboard the icebreaker Xuelong (or Snow Dragon) for return trip.

This vehicle, aimed to fulfill the underwater exploration of the marine environment in the North Pole, is an achievement scored by a research group from the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA), CAS, with the support of the National High-tech Research and Development Program (dubbed the "863" Program).

The concept of ARV was firstly brought out by SIA scientists in China in 2002. It is an innovative attempt to integrate the functions of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) with a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). Arctic ARV features with an open modular reconfigurable architecture and a diverse operation mode (autonomous, semi-autonomous, and remote control). It's equipped with power supplies and a micro fiber cable. AUV mode enables the vehicle to make underwater exploration on a large scale, while ROV mode is designed to investigate in a small sea area with accuracy.

Rather than using the old two-dimensional fashion, Arctic ARV made sea ice investigation in a three-dimensional way, initiating a brand new observation measure for marine scientific research. When Xuelong dropped its anchor in the destination, the vehicle was launched to acquire the physical properties and thickness of the sea ice and other data of the ocean elements.