It’s all hands on—and off—deck as researchers from Michigan Technological University pilot the Armada 8, a 26-foot uncrewed vessel from Ocean Infinity. The data collected by the team will be added to Lakebed 2030, an initiative from the Great Lakes Observing System, to map the lakes in high definition.
Existing charts for areas of the Great Lakes are decades old, says Travis White, a research engineer at the university involved with the initiative. Out-of-date records pose a hazard to boaters because they’re missing shoals and other underwater hazards.
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The Armada 8 doesn’t run totally solo. A crewed ‘chase boat’ tags along and remotely pilots the uncrewed vessel. With two vessels sharing the work, the team is able to map twice the amount of area in the same amount of time, says White.
Both the Armada 8 and the chase boat use multibeam sonar systems to create 3D maps of the lake floor. Mapping requires both vessels to perform back and forth sweeps of the lake, similar to a Zamboni cleaning an ice rink. The team can watch the data collection in real time, with enough definition to make out boulders, shipwrecks, and submerged infrastructure.
Mapping the Great Lakes is also expected to help locate missing aircraft and vessels. The combined number of planes and vessels sitting in the Great Lakes is in the hundreds, if not thousands, says White. “This mapping approach would be the way to discover everything that is missing,” he says. “Hopefully, anything that could be discovered would be discovered.” He and his team have started sweeps in Lake Superior, in search of a plane from the National Center for Atmospheric Research that disappeared in 1968.
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Uncrewed vessels are useful for work that fall under the three D’s: dull, dangerous, and dirty, says White. Handing tasks to autonomous vehicles can remove a person from harm’s way—whether the harm comes from inclement weather, waves, or even just bouts of seasickness. Between the safety benefits and powerful sonar images, the future of partnerships between crewed and uncrewed vessels looks bright.
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