SeaRobotics, announced the successful deployment of their SR-Surveyor M1.8 ASV in cooperation with Morgan & Eklund (M&E), a Florida based land and hydrographic survey firm, to safely survey a twenty mile stretch of waterways in the hard-hit islands of the Bahamas.
“We designed the SR-Surveyor M1.8 to excel at working in hurricane and storm-damaged areas, without putting manned vessels in harm’s way. The SR-Surveyor M1.8 is portable, which is key in difficult to reach areas due to downed trees, submerged vessels and debris limiting access to launch areas,” said Don Darling, President of SeaRobotics. “High-quality data is also critical to recovery efforts — they need an accurate picture of the underwater environment to do their jobs safely and effectively.”
Providing accurate data and detailed images of the condition of the waterways are crucial to the success of the recovery effort and M&E, a hydrographic survey firm with experience in post-hurricane damage assessment, chose the SR-Surveyor M1.8 because of its shallow draft and multiple sensors onboard.
“This ASV can navigate hard-to-reach areas and collect multiple types of data that help present an accurate image of the underwater environment,” said Rob Collaro, Director of Hydrographic and Land Surveys, M&E.
The SR-Surveyor M1.8 has closely coupled multiple sensors on board and has the ability to collect side-scan sonar, multibeam sonar, and lidar data simultaneously. The optimized sensor suite (EdgeTech 2205, Velodyne PUCK, SonTek M9, and AML MicroSV) provided accurate data and detailed images of the condition of the waterways, which are crucial to the success of the ongoing recovery effort. “The Surveyor M1.8 performed well and allowed M&E to safely and successfully image the waterways,” added Darling. “We’re happy that we’ve been able to contribute to the recovery efforts in the Bahamas.”
SeaRobotics Corporation, headquartered in Stuart, Florida, specializes in smart survey vehicles that are manned/unmanned and autonomously operated. The company’s clients include major military and commercial organizations, both U.S. and foreign. SeaRobotics' seasoned marine survey software interfaces with most data acquisition hardware, software and sensing systems to produce multi-spectral, geo-referenced data for survey, research or surveillance efforts. Applications for SeaRobotics' vehicles range from bathymetric and hydrographic surveys to coastal, harbor, and riverine surveillance. Many SeaRobotics' vessels are small, modular and man-portable, allowing rapid deployment in remote areas or deployment by larger vessels; their command and control systems are user-friendly and compact allowing for safe, efficient surveying. To learn more, click here.
