There are few industries where robots are as necessary as in the field of mine removal, where the dangers are too great for actual humans to get involved. In preparation for the construction of one of the largest underwater pipelines in human history — which will run 759 miles under the Baltic Sea — robots are exactly what will be needed.

With the laying of the new pipe expected to begin this April, a British company is already at work planning the deployment of those autonomous devices.

Russia supplies Western Europe with the major share of its natural gas, primarily used for heating buildings. In order to improve the delivery of the gas, Russian conglomerate Gazprom is leading a consortium of companies in building Nord Stream, a dual-pipe gas corridor that will be able to transport 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year — enough to supply 26 million homes with fuel.

If all goes as planned, the line could be open and running by 2012.

But the Baltic Sea route between Vyborg, Russia and Greifswald Germany, which passes through the territorial waters of Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, is littered with the detritus of World War II — including dangerous explosives that must be cleared before any pipe can be laid. A Finnish government agency approved the €7.4 billion line’s construction last week, but first the water must be made safe enough to work in.

Which is where the robots come in: Bactec International, which works to remove mines in conflict-plagued areas like the Falklands, estimates that there are 150,000 unexploded bombs sitting on the floor of the Baltic Sea, left there by the Russian and German armies in the 1940s. Clearing them all will constitute the biggest commercial mine-clearance project ever. About 70 of these mines, each filled with 300 kg of explosive charge, sit in the pipeline’s path, mostly in its northern section just south of Finland. Once each mine is identified, Bactec will begin a two-day robot operation to ensure the mine’s safe disposal.

Here’s how it will work: A research ship deploys the robot to the seabed, where it identifies the exact location of the explosive. After sounding a warning to surrounding ship traffic, scaring fish away using a small explosive, and then emitting a “seal screamer” of high intensity noises designed to make the area around the blast quite uncomfortable for marine mammals, Bactec’s engineers erupt a 5 kg blast, forcing the mine to detonate. This process ensures the safety of humans plus any animals living in the surrounding environment.

The operation concludes with the robot being redeployed to clear up the scrap of the now-destroyed bomb.

Despite all the precautions, the Nord Stream project has not been without controversy. (more…)