The Use of USV to Develop Navigational and Bathymetric Charts of Yacht Ports on the Example of National Sailing Centre in Gdańsk

Abstract

Apart from extensive infrastructure protection, modern yacht ports should primarily provide vessels with navigational safety associated with their maneuvering on the approach fairway, as well as mooring in the port aquatory. For this reason, yachts entering the harbor should have up-to-date, accurate, and reliable charts of the port and its surroundings. This article presents hydrographic surveys conducted in the National Sailing Centre (NSC) yacht port at the Gdańsk University of Physical Education and Sport (GUPES), whose aim was to define and develop unique bathymetric and navigational charts of the harbor and the approach fairway. These can be used for example to manage berths in the marina or inform about the depths in the yacht port and on the approach fairway. The chart of the NSC-GUPES and its approach fairway is Poland’s first cartographic image of a harbor, performed entirely on the basis of surveys conducted by an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV). The study results demonstrated that the use of a small-sized USV in bathymetric measurements of yacht ports and marinas was significantly more effective than the traditional (manned) hydrographic surveys. Such vessels allow measurements to be carried out in hard-to-reach locations, even between mooring vessels, and in the immediate vicinity of quays. Thanks to the implemented automatic mode of steering on sounding profiles, USVs are equally efficient and capable of carrying out hydrographic surveys on a larger waterbody, i.e., the approach fairway.

Assessment of the Steering Precision of a Hydrographic USV along Sounding Profiles Using a High-Precision GNSS RTK Receiver Supported Autopilot

“…Maritime transport and special applications of USVs [22] are nowadays two main directions for their development. The use of unmanned vessels may be noted in scientific research on oceans and seas [23][24][25], environment protection [26], and military applications [27]. The diversity of their applications requires solving a number of technical issues.…”

Bathymetric Measurements of the Vistula Smiala River Mouth with the Use of a Hydrographic Manned Vessel

“…On the other eastern side, the marina borders the Bird Paradise Nature Reserve. The park is located in the north-western part of Sobieszewo Island and covers an area of 188 hectares [25]. Figure 1 is a visual presentation of the described area.…”

Determination of USV’s Direction Using Satellite and Fluxgate Compasses and GNSS-RTK

“…The miniaturisation of vessels used in hydrography [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], especially unmanned ones (USVs), and of measuring devices, in particular, the acoustic ones, including single beam echosounders (SBES) and multibeam echosounders (MBES), provides the possibility of their usage in limited water areas, especially in seaports where the ground conditions restrict the application of satellite devices and systems and where disturbance of the electromagnetic field caused by ferromagnetic objects is present. Compasses installed on USV, being an integral part of the autonomous measuring system, are not resistant to such disturbances, which results in no possibility for the sounding vessel to head along the sounding profiles in an automatic mode.…”