HERBI survey towed from a manned boat

• Price: Price on application

HERBI-USV may be thrown in the water and towed with a manned boat. This keeps all the electronics and sensors in one compact package with a WiFi link to a remote touchscreen. It is possible to tow with a boom on a boat that can swing to the side or back so that near banks of reservoirs the boat can travel in deeper water suitable for its draught while data is acquired right near the bank. This also eliminates a common problem where roll of the boat can alter depth of a sonar sensor. When adopting this technique beware that if the HERBI-USV is towed behind a propellor then air bubbles will affect the sonar – a bad idea – keep HERBI away from the propellor thrust cone.

A manned boat also is suitable for passing through water weed including Salvinia which binds around propellors. I have found that periodically stopping, reverse thrusting and/or lifting the motor to clear the propellor is easier than operating an air propelled boat or hovercraft in typical channels and rivers.