Monitoring Applications for Multifunctional Unmanned Surface Vehicles in Marine Coastal Environments

Abstract

This work investigates the application of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for the management of coastal environment. USVs are an important and highly accessible tool for operating in shallow and nearshore waters. Sea trials are used to test the maneuverability and bathymetric survey capabilities of USVs. The results show that USVs have the potential to be an integrative platform for surveying shallow water zones (rivers, estuaries, and coasts), which can be enhanced by installing various transducers and sensor modules. The advances in sensing technologies and microelectronics will lead to the miniaturization of sensors and devices resulting in the proliferation of USVs in the field of coastal management.