Fifty years and counting: Applications of AUVs in the Polar Regions

Over the fifty years since researchers at the University of Washington designed and built the unmanned untethered under-ice research submersible UARS there have been some 100 autonomous underwater vehicle campaigns to the Polar Regions by the West. This paper looks at how applications have changed over time, how changes in technology have enabled new mission scenarios, and ends with a look to the future.