Autonomous Shallow Water Hydrographic Survey Using a Proto-Type USV

Maritime unmanned systems (MUS) have gained widespread usage in a diverse range of hydrographic survey activities, including harbor/port surveys, beach and coastline monitoring, environmental assessment, and military operations. The present article explains a validated, rapid, and reliable technique...

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Main Authors: Laurențiu-Florin Constantinoiu, Mariana Bernardino, Eugen Rusu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-04-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/4/799
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author Laurențiu-Florin Constantinoiu
Mariana Bernardino
Eugen Rusu
author_facet Laurențiu-Florin Constantinoiu
Mariana Bernardino
Eugen Rusu
author_sort Laurențiu-Florin Constantinoiu
collection DOAJ
description Maritime unmanned systems (MUS) have gained widespread usage in a diverse range of hydrographic survey activities, including harbor/port surveys, beach and coastline monitoring, environmental assessment, and military operations. The present article explains a validated, rapid, and reliable technique for processing hydrographic data that was obtained via an autonomous hydrographic survey, and which was executed by a prototype unmanned surface vessel (USV) belonging to the Unmanned Survey Solutions (USS) corporation. The experimentation was part of the annual Multinational Exercise Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping that was augmented by Maritime Unmanned Systems 22 (REPMUS22), which was held in the national waters of Portugal. The main objective of this experimentation was to assess the underwater environment over an ocean beach for an amphibious landing exercise. Moreover, the integration of the multibeam system with the autonomous prototype vessel was assessed. A short comparison between the USV survey and a traditional vessel multibeam survey is presented, whereby the advantages of performing an autonomous survey operation near the coastline is emphasized. A correlation between a known multibeam processing technique and the dissemination of a rapid but consistent product for operational use is described, highlighting the applicability of the technique for the data collected from small experimental platforms. Moreover, this study outlines the relationship between the particular errors observed in autonomous small vehicles and in conventional data processing methods. The resultant cartographic outputs from the hydrographic survey are presented, emphasizing the specific inaccuracies within the raw data and the suitability of distinct hydrographic products for various user domains.
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spelling doaj.art-8444efc0f9b64f119bc8799ecdd8ed6d2023-11-17T19:56:13ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122023-04-0111479910.3390/jmse11040799Autonomous Shallow Water Hydrographic Survey Using a Proto-Type USVLaurențiu-Florin Constantinoiu0Mariana Bernardino1Eugen Rusu2NATO Maritime Geospatial, Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre of Excellence, 1249-093 Lisbon, PortugalCentre for Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering (CENTEC), Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), 1049-001 Lisbon, PortugalDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galati, 800008 Galati, RomaniaMaritime unmanned systems (MUS) have gained widespread usage in a diverse range of hydrographic survey activities, including harbor/port surveys, beach and coastline monitoring, environmental assessment, and military operations. The present article explains a validated, rapid, and reliable technique for processing hydrographic data that was obtained via an autonomous hydrographic survey, and which was executed by a prototype unmanned surface vessel (USV) belonging to the Unmanned Survey Solutions (USS) corporation. The experimentation was part of the annual Multinational Exercise Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping that was augmented by Maritime Unmanned Systems 22 (REPMUS22), which was held in the national waters of Portugal. The main objective of this experimentation was to assess the underwater environment over an ocean beach for an amphibious landing exercise. Moreover, the integration of the multibeam system with the autonomous prototype vessel was assessed. A short comparison between the USV survey and a traditional vessel multibeam survey is presented, whereby the advantages of performing an autonomous survey operation near the coastline is emphasized. A correlation between a known multibeam processing technique and the dissemination of a rapid but consistent product for operational use is described, highlighting the applicability of the technique for the data collected from small experimental platforms. Moreover, this study outlines the relationship between the particular errors observed in autonomous small vehicles and in conventional data processing methods. The resultant cartographic outputs from the hydrographic survey are presented, emphasizing the specific inaccuracies within the raw data and the suitability of distinct hydrographic products for various user domains.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/4/799hydrographic surveymaritime unmanned systemsunmanned surface vehicleCUBEmultibeam sonaramphibious operations
spellingShingle Laurențiu-Florin Constantinoiu
Mariana Bernardino
Eugen Rusu
Autonomous Shallow Water Hydrographic Survey Using a Proto-Type USV
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
hydrographic survey
maritime unmanned systems
unmanned surface vehicle
CUBE
multibeam sonar
amphibious operations
title Autonomous Shallow Water Hydrographic Survey Using a Proto-Type USV
title_full Autonomous Shallow Water Hydrographic Survey Using a Proto-Type USV
title_fullStr Autonomous Shallow Water Hydrographic Survey Using a Proto-Type USV
title_full_unstemmed Autonomous Shallow Water Hydrographic Survey Using a Proto-Type USV
title_short Autonomous Shallow Water Hydrographic Survey Using a Proto-Type USV
title_sort autonomous shallow water hydrographic survey using a proto type usv
topic hydrographic survey
maritime unmanned systems
unmanned surface vehicle
CUBE
multibeam sonar
amphibious operations
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/4/799
work_keys_str_mv AT laurentiuflorinconstantinoiu autonomousshallowwaterhydrographicsurveyusingaprototypeusv
AT marianabernardino autonomousshallowwaterhydrographicsurveyusingaprototypeusv
AT eugenrusu autonomousshallowwaterhydrographicsurveyusingaprototypeusv