Autonomous shallow water bathymetric measurements for environmental assessment and safe navigation using USVs

The application of unmanned surface vehicles for autonomous shallow water bathymetric measurements, for naval mine counter-measures and hydrographic charting, and as a navigation assist for high valued ships is discussed. Defence Research & Development Canada has developed a prototype unmanned surface vehicle based on a commerically available catamaran hull-form integrated with a hydrographic quality bathymetric sonar, side-scan sonar, and an echo sounder. The unmanned surface vehicle is also equipped with a WHOI underwater acoustic modem and a 2.4 GHz RF radio to facilitate above and below water communications. The vehicle is also integrated with a mission-planner that has an advanced autonomy framework to facilitate the development and implementation of more complex robotic behaviors towards capabilities for the above-mentioned applications. This autonomous system has undergone validation and testing in the Canadian Arctic and numerous local trials in Halifax Canada. The efficacy of, and lessons learned from, using unmanned surface vehicles for these applications are discussed.