Things Everyone Should Know About Unmanned Surface Vehicles

By Lisa Wallace


These things are also called USVs. They are a brand new type of technology that has made it so you do not even need a person operating the vehicle for it to navigate successfully over places like public waters. Since this can be a safety risk to all, unmanned surface vehicles are definitely something to be looked into.

Unlike self driving cars, this term applies to water crafts of this type. This type of technology allows these vehicles to be able to navigate the waters without needing a crew inside. This can be a huge advantage which is obvious to anyone who has ever been holed up in the tight quarters of a boat for long periods of time with lots of other people.

When you study something as vast as the ocean, it can sometimes be a daunting task to compile research and analyze and study it. When you have this new technology on your side, you can make use of it in ways that benefit your research in ways you could never have imagined. Nowadays, oceanographers make use of USVs to take care of a lot of things that used to require an actual human to do.

One of the big benefits of using something like this is the cost savings. It is not difficult to see where are the savings come from, as the main thing that is eliminated from the equation is the people. When you have to hire a crew, you not only have to pay them fairly but you also have to consider things like food and other management issues.

New technology always changes the way that scientific research is conducted, and oceanography is no exception. While weather buoys that are drifting or moored can be fairly useful, they are not nearly as accurate as people would like them to be. A lot of people nowadays prefer to use USVs because they get better results.

The wave glider is one of the many USVs out there. The way that it moves itself across the ocean is by utilizing the natural energy that is contained in the waves themselves, and that is where it gets its name from. It is also equipped with solar cells, which is how it powers up all of its equipment.

There are plenty of USVs which are powered, and those have their own special uses for researchers as well because depending on the type of research that is being conducted, the scientists may need a vehicle that has a little more power behind it. One of the branches of oceanography is known as a hydrographic survey. This is helped out a lot with the advancements made in powered USVs.

It is so great when the loss of precious human life can be prevented, and this technology is a great way for this to happen. When the military has to find out where a certain underwater mine is located, in the past it took people going around in manned vehicles until they found it. Now no lives have to be lost or even risked in the process.




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