What the VY150 Deep-Sea ROV Can Do—and What Its Sea Trials Still Need to Prove

The VY150 is an uncrewed, work-class remotely operated vehicle (ROV) developed by Shandong Future Robot and Harbin Institute of Technology’s Weihai campus. Built to carry tools and manipulators for seabed work, it is intended to help with deep-water exploration and engineering tasks. Its September 28, 2026 departure from Weihai alongside a 250-hp counterpart marks a step from earlier tests toward validation in real sea conditions—not proof that every operating depth or industrial task is already qualified. 613

What the VY150 is designed to do

A work-class ROV is built for hands-on underwater tasks, with operators directing the vehicle from the surface. The VY150 is uncrewed and has a tether-management system (TMS); its control setup integrates the ROV, TMS and power-distribution controls in a transportable, container-style control room. The manufacturer also lists integrated navigation, positioning, communications and coordination for multiple tools. 13

That distinguishes it from a crewed submersible, which carries people, and from an autonomous underwater vehicle, which is designed to operate without continuous remote piloting. The VY150’s design centers on surface-directed work using manipulators and other equipment. 13

The vehicle is intended to support deep-water surveying and resource exploration, with a broader work-class role in seabed inspection and manipulation. The expedition’s stated purpose is to assess stability and working capability in real deep-sea conditions. 6

VY150 specifications—and a depth-rating discrepancy

The manufacturer lists the VY150 at 115 kW (150 hp), with an effective payload of 350 kg. That payload figure includes the manipulators and valve pack, rather than representing capacity available solely for additional tools. The product information lists five- and seven-axis manipulators, hydraulic tool connections, and navigation and communications systems. 13

The published depth figures require care. The manufacturer describes the VY150 as a 3,500-meter-class vehicle, while its specifications table lists a depth of 3,000 meters. Separately, reports on the September expedition describe the 150-hp and 250-hp robots as 4,500-meter-class systems and say the joint mission will cover 3,000-, 4,500- and 6,000-meter depth gradients. Those expedition targets should not be treated as a verified 6,000-meter operating rating for the VY150. 13612

What the sea expedition is testing

The expedition is designed to test domestically produced deep-sea equipment’s stability and working performance during resource exploration and deep-water surveying. The reported program spans several depth gradients and includes both the 150-hp and 250-hp robot series. That makes the voyage a practical test of how the systems perform in real sea conditions, while leaving open how each individual model will be qualified for particular depths and tasks. 6

The engineering challenges include deep-sea pressure, darkness and strong disturbance from water movement. The partners say their work has focused on precision manipulator operation, vehicle stability against currents, and intelligent sensing and decision-making. Earlier reporting also identifies power transmission, communications, navigation and coordination of multiple tools as key technical problems for deep-water robots. 64

The expedition’s equipment is reported to use more than 10,000 domestically produced components, with more than 30 core technologies addressed during development. Those figures describe the partners’ reported domestic supply-chain and engineering effort; field testing helps reveal how the complete systems perform together outside controlled conditions. 6

How the tests fit into VY150’s development

The manufacturer reports that a VY150 placed a seabed reference marker at about 2,100 meters in the South China Sea in October 2023. It has also reported a later South China Sea dive beyond 2,404 meters and batch production. These are meaningful milestones, but they do not by themselves establish qualification for every depth or industrial application. 1338

The September expedition extends that testing alongside the more powerful VY250. Reports describe the robots as already in batch supply and cite deep-water cable repair work by related equipment; they do not establish that the specific VY150 completed that repair. 6

The partners’ stated ambition to develop equipment for 10,000-meter depths is a future goal. It should not be confused with a demonstrated capability of the VY150 or a result of this expedition. The significance of the voyage is more immediate: it gives the developers a chance to assess reliability and working performance at planned depths and use what they learn to advance the systems toward routine engineering use. 6