China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation
To shorten the time needed, the decision was made to develop an ROUV based on existing technology by first selecting a system available on the market with performance closest to the requirements, and then improving the commercially available system based on the experienced gained from the RECON-IV ROUV developed earlier. The AMETEK 2006, an American ROUV used to support offshore oil drilling operations, was selected because it was the one that met the requirements best, while also being the one China could purchase on the international market at the time. However, despite meeting Chinese requirements better than all of the rest available systems, it was far from getting close, so extensive improvements were needed. One of the major upgrades needed was the complete redesign and incorporation of two manipulators that were required to operate around half a dozen tools underwater. These manipulators were completed by the main subcontractor, the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), and eventually won 1st Place in the Scientific and Technological Advancement Award of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation in 1996.