Concept for an autonomous surface vessel operating in an unknown naval environment

Sammanfattning: In 2010 about 25% of the Swedish coastal areas had been surveyed with modern bathymetry methods, the rest was surveyed with older methods in the 1800s. By 2015 this portion has increased to 48% and the Swedish Maritime Administration's goal is to have surveyed 75% by 2020. The remaining 25% consists mostly of shallow water with a depth of less than 10 meters. These areas are di-cult to measure with conventional methods; surveying ships equipped with a multi-beam sonar. Of these areas the Swedish Maritime Administration intend to survey 15% by 2022. This is only possible if newer technologies are made available for surveying shallower waters. This thesis is a part of a project developing an autonomous vessel suited for bathymetric surveying in shallow waters. The thesis focuses on the proof of concept as well as the development and testing of a prototype vessel and its systems. The benet of an autonomous vessel like this is that it is supposed to be cheaper and easier to operate than a smaller ship with sonars operated by a crew.