As polar scientific exploration requires broader range, deeper space, and more data collection, unmanned equipment emerges frequently in the polar research expeditions from various countries, helping researchers to have a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the polar environment. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have gradually become indispensable equipment for the polar underwater scientific research in the new century due to their advantages of autonomy and versatility. Therefore, it is essential to review the application of scientific research AUVs in polar regions and anticipate their future development. This article begins with a basic introduction to AUVs, followed by analysis of the main purposes and advantages of the AUVs in polar regions based on the summarization of the thirty polar AUV operations in the world. The challenges encountered by the AUVs applied in polar regions are discussed to present the development of the AUVs suitable for the polar scientific research. Additionally, thoughts are also proposed for the design of a new generation of polar research vessels equipped with unmanned equipment such as AUVs.

Saddle plate is one of the typical double curved hull plates. The deformation prediction of the induction heating with multiple heating lines is the key technical problem in the steel plate induction heating technology regarding the study of saddle plate formed with multiple heating lines by high frequency induction heating. The correlation data between the procedure parameter and the inherent strain are established through multi-field coupling numerical calculation of a large number of steel plates based on the theory of inherent strain and the elastic finite element analysis method. The overall deformation of the saddle plate with multiple heating lines is then calculated by using the elastic finite element modeling with the input load of the actual inherent strain. The deflection obtained from the elastic element analysis of the saddle plate is consistent with the experimental value with short calculation time and satisfied accuracy. The results therefore show that the elastic element analysis modeling of the saddle plate with multiple heating lines can be applied to the deformation prediction of the saddle plate.