Drone boats begin monitoring water quality in UK rivers
Self-driving and remote controlled mini-vessels have been deployed into British waterways to study discharge flow rate and water quality.
The autonomous surface vehicles [ASVs] are capable of taking samples of water and analysing for a range of data sets.
Capable of travelling up to 1km away from research teams at a top speed of 4metres per second, the devices are powered by the same lithium-ion batteries found in common power tools.
According to Surfbee, the Australian company behind the technology, the equipment allows for real time regulatory water quality sampling, flow discharge gauging, surveying, reservoir management, and more.
‘The Xylem and Surfbee partnership offers water utilities in the UK and European mainland access to combined world-class drone and sensor technology, which will collect exponentially more data than is possible in a regular boat or with point sampling,’ said Darren Hanson, Director of Environmental Solutions at Xylem, Surfbee’s first European partner.
‘Almost any outdoor application requiring a YSI or SonTek sensor can now be completed faster and cover a wider area with less operational expense,’ he continued. ‘This will be a gamechanger for UK utilities and can assist them in meeting the requirements of the Environment Act 2021, legislation which states water companies must continuously monitor the quality of the receiving water upstream and downstream of their assets.’
Organisations interested in this project can find Surfbee and Xylem at the Water, Wastewater and Environmental Monitoring event at Birmingham NEC, which runs over 9th and 10th October 2024.
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Image: Surfbee