New, High-Performing USV for Ocean Surveying

A new unmanned surface vehicle (USV) designed for the Chinese market offers an open and low-cost platform to measure water current and direction. Nortek China has integrated Doppler instrumentation on the vehicle to help better meet user requirements for ocean surveying.

The new USV has an IPC (Industrial Personal Computer) as the main operation platform and uses Remote Desktop, a remote control technique, to communicate with all the instruments installed. This means that the vehicle offers an open and low-cost platform for customers who need to carry out several different tasks at the same time. For example, users can perform hydrology and water quality measurement while simultaneously obtaining water samples. Furthermore, the USV can carry other appropriate instruments, for example for geomorphology.

Flexible system setup and design
The basic exterior dimensions of the vehicle are about 200 cm length, 70 cm width and 40 cm depth. The USV has two propellers that can produce 80 pounds of thrust force. For navigation control, it can be remotely controlled manually, or be programmed to sail automatically by itself. The design of the vehicle can be adjusted according to different requirements from end users.

High-performing USV at a low cost
The new USV is characterized by good sailing performance and excellent stability. A powerful propeller provides propulsion when needed. IPC control and Remote Desktop help simplify the operation of the vehicle. The vehicle also stands out due to its low cost and easy integration of multiple sensors and instruments.