Page 24: of Marine Technology Magazine (May 2013)

Hydrographic Survey - Unmanned Surface Vessels The SonobotThe Sonobot from Evologics, a Berlin, Germany-based manufacturer of underwater communication and positioning systems, was on hand recently at the Ocean Business 2013 exhibition in Southampton, U.K. to demonstrate its updated Sonobot Autonomous Hydrographic Survey Vehicle. Sonobot was developed to provide surveyors, service pro- viders and researchers with a smart lightweight solution for hydrographic surveys and other applications in harbors and inland waters, with the design objectives being usability, ro- bustness and versatility, paired with high-performance of the onboard sensors.?As geological mapping of the sea oor in near shore or shal- low water areas presents technological challenges due to the dynamics of the environment, high volume of data collected, and the limitations of operating in very shallow water, a re- motely operated or autonomous sea oor mapping USV is a great solution for the problems of shallow water settings,? said Francisco Bustamante, Senior Operations Manager, EvoLog- ics. ?The main idea behind EvoLogics Sonobot was to present a small, simple and usable platform for planning and execut- ing a hydrographic survey that can deliver accurate geo-ref- erenced bathymetric measurements and high-quality imagery with minimum transport, launch and recovery efforts.? The concept of SONOBOT is to offer the end user a modular system with several con guration options and deliver a ready- to-use vehicle with all the onboard equipment installed and ready for immediate action.Speci cally for the SONOBOT, EvoLogics used the pat- ented S2C broadband communication technology to build an advanced single-beam echo sounder, capable of deliver- ing precise and accurate depth measurements even in very shallow waters. The side scan sonar, a highly accurate DGPS system and other equipment options were preselected among commercial off-the-shelf products to best  t the SONOBOT Unmanned Su rLocked and Loaded for Hydrographic Missions In recent years, the proliferation of unmanned surface vessels deployed for hy- drographic missions has mushroomed as the collaborative effects of propulsion, software and sensor technologies has cumulatively made these vessels, large and small, more capable for a multitude of missions. In this edition, and on the heels of the Ocean Business exhibition last month in Southampton, Marine Technology Reporter examines recent developments. The SonobotMay 201324 MTRMTR #4 (18-33).indd 24MTR #4 (18-33).indd 245/6/2013 10:53:33 AM5/6/2013 10:53:33 AM