CEE-USV Remotely Operated Hydrographic Survey Boat
With a purposeful-looking remotely operated hydrographic survey boat package, CEE HydroSystems USA has added a factory-option USV to its shallow-water bathymetry product line. The survey vessel is 1.9m and equipped with a singlebeam echosounder. The key to the CEE approach is to bring all components together; instead of multiple components cabled and connected, the CEE-USV has a single data module presenting a simple user interface.
Adrian McDonald of CEE characterises its purpose saying that If the users are aiming for a science project – don’t buy this USV. With a design aimed to minimize the requirement for specific system expertise, the main goal was to make the USV as simple to operate as possible without compromising data quality.
CEE HydroSystems has supplied single beam bathymetry solutions for customers using small USVs since 2011. With the addition of the CEE-USV, the benefits of the company’s latest-generation compact CEESCOPE echo sounder and positioning systems are realised in combination with a survey vehicle from manufacturer HR Wallingford. The CEE package offers a high performance unmanned solution for shallow water inshore surveying; with a dedicated high bandwidth radio link, single beam sonar, positioning data, HD video, and ancillary sensor data is automatically telemetered to the shore station for acquisition using software such as HYPACK.
The vehicle’s removable bow section promotes portability without sacrificing speed and efficiency. Dual independent motors with separate rudders provide significant redundancy benefits for trouble-free field deployments. The CEESCOPE sonar and positioning package can be quickly removed for use on a manned boat, another feature of the CEE design.
