In the current era of major maritime strategies, the development of grand ocean science programs is becoming an important pathway for the advancement of ocean science. The international community has accumulated considerable experience in implementing such programs, but they face challenges such as insufficient support from high-tech equipment, inadequate research funding, and slow progress in international cooperation. Supported by policies for building a strong maritime country and advancing deep-sea science and technology, China has made certain progress in ocean science research. However, in the future, it will face challenges arising from extreme environments, integrated long-term three-dimensional scientific expeditions, and system integration. Therefore, it is essential to focus on the "four poles" of scientific research—extreme macroscopic, extreme microscopic, extreme environments, and extreme interdisciplinary integration—develop novel ocean technologies and domains, strengthen independent innovation and high-level international cooperation, and use high-tech research equipment as a driver to support future large-scale science programs in key areas.

Polar marine equipment is the main carrier for human participation in polar activities. The suggestions for the division of the polar marine equipment system are provided in the current study. The key directions for future polar marine equipment in China are found based on the historical development of China’s polar marine equipment and the comparative analysis of similar equipment types at home and abroad. Nine technical disciplines for polar ships are proposed and three major technical requirements are listed and elaborated by combining with the engineering research and development of heavy icebreakers. It can provide references for the research and development of relevant equipment technologies in China.

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.