Maritime Robotics Otter USV

Maritime Robotics’ Otter USV is the ultimate hydrographic survey tool for mapping sheltered and enclosed waters. With tight integration between the on-board control system that enables autonomy and the multibeam echo-sounder, a bathymetric survey can be executed with a simple, streamlined workflow.

The Otter USV is the smallest member of the Maritime Robotics USV family. With a footprint of only 200 x 108 x 106 cm, it fits into any small cargo van for convenient transportation to survey sites. With a weight of 95 kg assembled, and with the ability to disassemble the Otter into parts weighing less than 20kg, a single operator can launch the vessel from a jetty, lake- or riverside, or the beach.

The autonomous future is electric: the Otter is equipped with electric thrusters that are powered by up to four powerful and easily interchangeable battery packs. This gives the Otter a best-in-class endurance for its size, operating up to 20 hours (at 2 kn). The battery solution is built on off-the-shelf components, providing easy access to spare parts all over the world.

The Otter can be controlled via a graphical user interface, Maritime Robotics’ vehicle control station (VCS), or a mobile phone app. The app provides manual joystick-like control, while VCS has many control modes, such as course and speed control, heading control, or waypoint control. For waypoint control, the operator can easily plan missions consisting of individual waypoints, or use templates for creating common patterns such as lawnmower surveys.  Furthermore, live monitoring of sensor data quality parameters and visualisation of actual data coverage are provided in the same graphical user interface.

The Otter’s robust catamaran design and the tightly integrated bathymetric survey system make this system a cost-efficient turn-key solution for bathymetric surveys in sheltered waters such as small lakes, canals, rivers, ponds, and harbour areas.