The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Integrated with the Unmanned Surface Vessel Mapping the Southern Ionian Sea. The Winning Technology Solution of the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE

TLDR

The study presents the data collection, processing, and quality assessment methods used in a survey of the Southern Ionian Sea off the Messinian Peninsula, Greece. Data were gathered by the GEBCO‑Nippon Foundation Alumni Team during the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE Final Round using only unmanned vehicles—a deep‑water AUV equipped with a HISAS 1032 synthetic‑aperture sonar and an EM 2040 multibeam echosounder, partnered with a USV that provided positioning and surface mapping via an EM 304 multibeam echosounder, with 24 h of bathymetry and imagery data processed over 48 h using cloud technology and automated pipelines. The combined datasets produced a 5‑m resolution bathymetric surface, demonstrating the deep‑water mapping capabilities achieved through the cooperation of unmanned vehicles and integrated sensors.

Abstract

The methods of data collection, processing, and assessment of the quality of the results of a survey conducted at the Southern Ionian Sea off the Messinian Peninsula, Greece are presented. Data were collected by the GEBCO-Nippon Foundation Alumni Team, competing in the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, during the Final Round of the competition. Data acquisition was conducted by the means of unmanned vehicles only. The mapping system was composed of a single deep water AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), equipped with a high-resolution synthetic aperture sonar HISAS 1032 and multibeam echosounder EM 2040, partnered with a USV (Unmanned Surface Vessel). The USV provided positioning data as well as mapping the seafloor from the surface, using a hull-mounted multibeam echosounder EM 304. Bathymetry and imagery data were collected for 24 h and then processed for 48 h, with the extensive use of cloud technology and automatic data processing. Finally, all datasets were combined to generate a 5-m resolution bathymetric surface, as an example of the deep-water mapping capabilities of the unmanned vehicles’ cooperation and their sensors’ integration.