In the realm of energy and environmental monitoring, a team of researchers from the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz, Bolivia, has developed an innovative solar-powered autonomous surface vehicle (USV) designed to enhance water quality assessment. The team, led by Misael Mamani and including Mariel Fernandez, Grace Luna, Steffani Limachi, Leonel Apaza, Carolina Montes-Dávalos, Marcelo Herrera, and Edwin Salcedo, has created a platform that promises to revolutionize aquatic monitoring in remote and challenging environments.
The researchers have presented a novel USV equipped with a syringe-based sampling architecture that can collect up to 72 discrete water samples per mission. This capability addresses a significant limitation of existing USVs, which typically collect fewer samples or rely on single-point sensors that may not provide a comprehensive picture of water quality. The vehicle is powered by solar energy, making it suitable for long-duration missions in remote areas where access to electricity is limited.
The USV incorporates advanced navigation and autonomy features, including GPS-RTK navigation, LiDAR and stereo-vision obstacle detection, and Nav2-based mission planning. These technologies enable the vehicle to execute sampling routes autonomously in unstructured environments, ensuring reliable data collection. The platform also integrates a behavior-tree autonomy architecture adapted from Nav2, which allows for mission-level reasoning and perception-aware navigation. This modular approach enhances the vehicle’s adaptability and fault tolerance, making it a robust tool for aquatic monitoring.
One of the standout features of this USV is its modular 6×12 sampling system, controlled by distributed micro-ROS nodes. This design provides deterministic actuation, fault isolation, and rapid module replacement, ensuring that the vehicle can continue its mission even if one of its components fails. The system’s ability to collect high-resolution samples over a wide area sets it apart from previous USV-based samplers, offering a more comprehensive and accurate assessment of water quality.
Field trials conducted in Achocalla Lagoon in La Paz, Bolivia, demonstrated the USV’s capabilities. The vehicle achieved 87% waypoint accuracy, stable autonomous navigation, and accurate physicochemical measurements, including temperature, pH, conductivity, and total dissolved solids. These measurements were comparable to those collected manually, validating the USV’s effectiveness as a monitoring tool.
The practical applications of this research for the energy sector are significant. Accurate water quality assessment is crucial for the operation of hydroelectric power plants, which rely on clean and stable water sources. The USV’s ability to collect high-resolution water samples can help energy companies monitor the impact of their operations on local water bodies, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and promoting sustainable practices. Additionally, the vehicle’s autonomous capabilities make it an ideal tool for monitoring remote and inaccessible areas, where traditional sampling methods may be impractical or costly.
The research was published in the journal “Sensors,” a peer-reviewed publication that focuses on the development and application of sensors and sensing technologies. The study’s findings highlight the potential of autonomous surface vehicles to enhance environmental monitoring and support the sustainable operation of energy infrastructure.
In conclusion, the development of this solar-powered, autonomous USV represents a significant advancement in the field of aquatic monitoring. Its ability to collect high-resolution water samples and navigate autonomously in challenging environments makes it a valuable tool for the energy sector. As the demand for sustainable and environmentally responsible energy production grows, technologies like this USV will play an increasingly important role in ensuring the long-term viability of our water resources.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.