Rubin central design bureau is working on several types of Arctic equipment, including a robotized sea shelf drill, a self-contained seismic measurements system for a civilian submarine, and an underwater assembly service system, Rubin's chief designer Yevgeny Toropov told TASS.

The first sample of the robotized underwater drilling system can be created within five or six years. Its preliminary design was developed under the Iceberg project. The system consists of a drilling module, a mud-making module, and a cleaning module. "All of this will make a submerged ‘town.' The tools, pipes, expendable materials, and drilling mud will be used automatically with remote monitoring from the shore," Toropov said.

There is also a preliminary design for a service catamaran complex for underwater assembly work whose model has been tested recently. "It will make it possible to take any equipment on board and bring it to its destination underwater, avoiding navigation hurdles. On reaching the destination, the system will hover above it and install equipment on the seabed," the chief designer said.

The bureau has also come up with a preliminary design for a unique robotized seismic measurements system for a civilian submarine. "We have developed a method of using a civilian submarine as the system's carrier. The system can be used to take seismic measurements all over the Arctic and, if need be, in other water areas. This design project has been completed and handed over to the customer," Toropov said. The submarine's civilian crew can be recruited from former mariners who served on nuclear submarines in the navy. The project can be implemented within three or four years.