INSTALL Develops Autonomous Surface Vehicle
INSTALL srl, Italy, has just been awarded an agreement for the supply of its autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) on behalf of public authorities, environmental associations and universities. The vehicle is to carry out environmental surveys, profiling the water column with a multi-parametric probe with the purpose of examining its interactions with the underwater volcanic phenomena in the Gulf of Naples.
The ASV system, developed and built by INSTALL, is able to carry out missions in full autonomy, without the intervention of the operator. The ASV is equipped with a high-accuracy satellite positioning system (GNSS) and with a high-resolution camera able to give a direct feedback of the situation at the sea. The water column profiling is possible thanks to a small winch installed inside the ASV that through a remote control releases or recovers the multi-parametric probe, the four electric engines and the software developed also by INSTALL allowing to keep the ASV in a stable position for a long period. The ASV is also equipped with multibeam sonar to acquire near-shore bathymetry and sidescan sonar for debris identification.
Image: the ASV prototype during the last test.
