Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso have constructed a fully autonomous boat that can carry out bathymetric surveys — surveys of the depth and terrain of bodies of water like oceans, rivers and lakes. The team hopes the robotic boat can help simplify the survey process, which usually takes a crew of individuals to complete, as well as assist with reconnaissance missions. The boat and its capabilities are described in the May issue of the journal Sensors. “There are lots of reasons scientists carry out bathymetric surveys,” said Laura Alvarez, Ph.D., lead author of the study. “If you want to work in water-related studies, you need to know the shape and landscape of bodies of water. For example, you might want to map a reservoir to learn about water supply for electrical demand, or a river to learn about river evolution or flow patterns.” Alvarez, an assistant professor in UTEP’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences, specializes in unmanned systems for earth science. She started developing the boat several years ago but needed help tweaking and perfecting the system. That’s when she recruited science and electrical engineering master’s student Fernando Sotelo ‘22. “The first time we tested the boat was at the swimming pool at UTEP — just to make sure it could float,” laughed Fernando Sotelo, study co-author and now UTEP alumnus. To show proof of concept, the team successfully created 2D and 3D maps of portions of Ascarate Lake in El Paso, Texas and Grindstone Lake in Ruidoso, New Mexico. “My goal was to make the boat state-of-the-art and I think I did that. Of course, there’s always room to improve,” said Sotelo, who worked on the boat for his master’s thesis. “But the system works and for now, I hope it can make it easier for scientists like Dr. Alvarez to conduct their research.” Alvarez will put the boat to use for the first time this summer to study the Rio Grande River’s flow and depth.
