Unmanned surface vessels used in hydrological surveys.

Abstract

The invention relates to an unmanned surface vessel (USV) for use in hydrographic surveys, comprising: a main hull (300); two floating hulls (100); connecting posts (101) connecting the main hull (300) and the two floating hulls (100); propulsion and steering systems (103); and a sensor assembly comprising a hydrodynamic sensor mount (700) and a sonar depth sensor (701). The two floating hulls (100), connecting posts (101), the bottom of the floating hulls (102) and the hydrodynamic sensor mount (700) are hydrodynamically configured to direct flow and reduce flow interference around the sonar depth sensor (701) during the survey. Each propulsion and steering system (103) is located inside the bottom of the floating hull (102) of the respective floating hull (100).Each floating hull (100) incorporates a buoyancy control system comprising a water tank (106), a pump (108), a control valve (109), a sensor (110), and a piping system, where the pump (108) coordinates with the control valve (109) and the piping system to pump water into or out of the water tank (106) to change the amount of water contained in the tank to adjust the submersion / floating state or draft of the floating hull (100), and where the sensor (110) is configured to determine the actual submersion / floating state or draft of the floating hull (100) and provide feedback signals to the central control system to control the operation of the pump (108) and the control valve (109).

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