Using Unmanned Surface Vehicles for Bathymetric Dam Imaging

A North American Case Study with Wide-ranging Applications

Inspection of dams is a high-risk task for divers because of strong currents and eddies. The use of emerging technologies such as unmanned surface vehicles equipped with echosounders and sonars can lower those risks. Such systems can perform subsurface dam inspections quickly and effectively without putting humans at risk, as this US case study shows. Overused roads, outdated railway systems, brittle power grids, crumbling bridges and suchlike all take a toll on the economy and, tragically, sometimes even lead to loss of life. Failing infrastructure is an issue for most countries, and likely more so in developed nations that still... (read more)

2020-06-16 09:28:06

Subsea Autonomy is Moving Beyond Waypoints

Underwater an AUV Must Rely Upon its Own Sensor Network

The AUV has been the tool of choice for shallow-water MCM and EOD operations for a number of years. The coverage by popular news channels of unfortunate events, such as the MH370 tragedy, has also shown that the AUV has undisputedly become the tool of choice to carry out salvage operations at extreme depths. The AUV has no physical link to the surface and the majority of missions are still pre-programmed by a human, which can be time consuming and error prone. Missions are normally a sequence of defined waypoints where the AUV may be required to carry out certain... (read more)

2020-06-09 09:41:02

“Tharp Helped Keep Me Going”

How a Treasure Map Led Her to the Bottom of the Sea

"It wasn’t always easy being a black woman in my early days as an oceanographer,” says Dawn Wright, chief scientist at a worldwide operating company specialized in mapping and spatial analytics software. But a fictional pirate and a pioneering ocean explorer helped her chart her course. I grew up in the Hawaiian Islands, so the ocean has always been a sacred place to me. My summers included many hours spent in the waves, and ample time for reading. The book that captured my imagination above all others was Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. One of the central anchors of the... (read more)

2020-05-26 08:47:55

Dutch Survey Company Selects Sea Machines Autonomy for Unmanned Hydrographic Survey Operations

Underwater survey company Deep will upgrade one of its survey vessels with a Sea Machines SM300 autonomous control system. The Sea Machines system enables remote command of the vessel, including navigation and positioning, the control of on-board auxiliaries and sensors, and ship-to-shore data flow. The vessel, operating in multiple areas of the Wadden Sea, will be commanded by personnel in the Amsterdam office. Deep will initially deploy the Sea Machines-enabled vessel for a mission to survey the Wadden Sea, a challenging shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands located north of the Netherlands. With no surveyors on board the vessel... (read more)

2020-05-25 11:06:30

ASL Environmental Sciences Assists with Oceanographic Data Collection for Labrador Marine Research and Monitoring

In a collaborative effort with the Nunatsiavut government and Dalhousie University to measure ice, water current and other physical and biological properties of the marine environment, ASL Environmental Sciences Inc. contributed a prototype Log Ice Profiling Sonar (LogIPS). On 15 February, the sonar was deployed on a taut-line mooring in the waters off Nain, Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Canada. The mooring also contained an acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP), as well as data loggers for chlorophyll, turbidity, temperature-salinity and dissolved oxygen. The mooring was deployed through a hole cut in the sea ice, with an open-water recovery planned for later this year. The... (read more)

2020-05-07 01:43:35

μMA-X System Supports US Navy Next Generation Small-class UUV Evaluation

Mitcham Industries announced that its Klein Marine Systems unit recently delivered the first micro-MA-X (μMA-X SystemTM) in support of US Navy Next Generation Small-Class Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) evaluation sponsored by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). DIU is a defence organization focused exclusively on fielding and scaling commercial technology across the U.S. military to help solve critical problems. The μMA-X system is the first in a series of new imaging products based on Klein’s previously announced MA- XTM technology and designed for both commercial and military unmanned vehicle markets. The reduced size and power requirements of the μMA-X system make... (read more)

2020-04-28 10:09:30

Enhancing Port and Harbour Security with Unmanned Surface Vehicles

As readers of Hydro International know, the world’s ports and harbours are crucial to global trade. From Singapore to Antwerp, to Shanghai, to Rotterdam, to Los Angeles to other mega-ports and hundreds of other smaller ports, these crucial nodes are critical to world trade. A disaster like a fire, explosion, or a major oil spill could close one of these ports for an indefinite time. The secondary effects of such a catastrophe could include releasing a huge amount of pollution into rivers and oceans. As readers of Hydro International know, the world’s ports and harbours are crucial to global trade. From Singapore to Antwerp, and from Shanghai to Rotterdam, Los Angeles, other mega-ports and hundreds of other smaller ports, these crucial nodes are critical to world trade. A disaster like a fire, explosion or major oil spill could close one of these ports for an indefinite time. The secondary effects of such a catastrophe could include releasing a huge amount of pollution into rivers and oceans. The magnitude of providing comprehensive security for an average size port – let alone some of the world’s... (read more)

2020-04-17 09:56:56

AI Making Waves in the Maritime Field

Andy Hoggarth’s role at the helm of BD at CARIS is to understand trends in the business space industry as it evolves and translate these from idea to product. Given the spectrum of his expertise, he reflects on the current state of play and future possibilities for the fields of hydrography, marine geomatics and ocean science. He shares his insights on current and future trends in the field, articulating the value of artificial intelligence (AI) in reducing costs and processing time whilst increasing data accuracy and quality. How AI Can Help Businesses Everyone is inundated with data these days, and... (read more)

2020-04-02 10:35:43

Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy Asks for Advice

Fausto Bravo is a lieutenant in the Chilean Navy, specifically in the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service and he would like some advice. "In December 2019, one of Chile's air force planes crashed in the Drake Sea and since then our government has been trying to bring relief to the families of the victims by trying to find clues or parts of the aeroplane on the ocean floor," he writes. "The problem that we have had is that our most modern multibeam sonar is a Kongsberg EM 122 that has beams that deploy with 1-degree aperture, but the depth of the sea... (read more)

2020-03-26 11:46:40

Securing Offshore Oil and Gas Infrastructure with USVs

Employing commercial-off-the-shelf USVs that can be rapidly reconfigured with a diverse range of sensors can enhance the ability to deliver energy to America and the world. This is a win-win for the energy industry, says George Caldorisi when he describes the securing of oil and gas infrastructure with Unmanned Surface Vehicles. While the exigencies of climate change have led to major strides in the development and deployment of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and others, the world’s energy needs will continue to be met primarily by oil and natural gas for the foreseeable future. As readers of Hydro International are well aware, the strategic implications of the United States’ transition from energy dependence to energy independence to becoming a net oil and gas exporter are being felt worldwide. While some saw this sea change coming, most did not, and the community of nations is still coming to grips with... (read more)

2020-04-06 09:50:21