Remote depth survey of the Charles River Basin

Unmanned vehicles may provide more time- and cost-effective methods of gathering hydrographic survey data when compared to traditional, manned survey vessels. A remote-controlled unmanned surface vehicle (USV) was outfitted with a depth transducer for the purpose of conducting a depth survey of the Charles River Basin. Two windsurfer fins were added to the stem of the USV kayak for directional stability without significant drag, permitting a maximum vessel speed of 4.4 knots. A total of 1485 latitude-longitude GPS points with corresponding depth measurements were taken. Charles Basin data was plotted with ArcGIS software and used to create depth contours and three-dimensional surface plots of the river bottom. This prototype survey USV displays promise and could become readily feasible with further development and autonomy.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Karlik, Evan A

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Franz S. Hover.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40441

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40441