How We Use Unmanned Surface Vehicles

By Douglas Gibson


Many of us have learned to take map programs for granted, without necessarily knowing the work that has gone into creating them. The highs and lows shown in underwater topography have been largely mapped by satellite and radar. However, a more detailed mapping of the dark places in the world is now being done with unmanned surface vehicles.

Not only are the details of underwater topography being filled in, this work is being done remotely. These technologies are not just being used by governments, but universities and businesses make use of this for everything from topography to monitoring tagged sea animals. They have only to set the boundaries to be mapped, then watch the progress via VCS, or their vehicle control station.

The VCS is an application that can be added to any smart phone or other Internet interface device. In this way, the individuals performing the study can keep track of their project in real time, twenty-four hours a day, as long as the batteries hold up. There is a bank of four powerful battery packs they keep tabs on, and they are sure to know right away if the vehicle has run into any sort of trouble.

The process of mapping oceans or lake bottoms is known as bathymetry. Traditionally this task has been performed by manned boats using sonar equipment. It is a laborious process which requires them to comb the sea or lake bed in a vacuum-sweeper fashion, and their work is inhibited by nightfall as well as weather.

Robotic vessels have no need for gasoline, and they can perform their job without utilizing very many humans in the process. They can perform their duty much longer than human-controlled boats, and are able to perform studies that would have been impossible before. Should weather change abruptly, no people are put at risk.

These boats can be equipped for measuring temperature and rainfall, as well as wave patterns and temperature during severe storms. The study of hurricanes has been taken to a whole new level with this technology. With the data collected remotely, even if the vessel is completely lost, the data collected during the period of observation has already been delivered.

Private individuals have many uses for such technological advances as well. There are many farmers and land owners who have water features on their properties, and having these closely mapped is a vital part of ensuring safety on their property. It is necessary to know not only the depth of the water, but whether or not there are structures or trees shallow enough to pose a threat to boaters or swimmers.

Law enforcement is now able to utilize such technology in search and rescue missions. Humans will become tired long before the batteries of a small USV will wear out. The very hit-or-miss nature of such search and rescue can now be done in a manner much more efficient and therefore more likely to preserve human life in the event of a disaster.




About the Author: