In Changsha, unmanned boats become a "good helper" for underwater measurement
2024-08-24
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Changsha Evening News Omnimedia reporter Kuang Xiaojuan, correspondent Guo Jinhua, intern Wu Jingxuan
Frontline visits
Around the time of the Beginning of Autumn, the sun was still dazzling, and the waters of the Liuyang River near the Three Museums and One Hall in Changsha sparkled. A cool unmanned boat, under the control of Luo Wang, a technician from the Remote Sensing Data Collection Department of the Second Surveying and Mapping Institute of Hunan Province, set off from the shore, quickly sailed to the other side, and quickly returned. In less than 2 minutes, a cross-sectional topographic map of the river appeared on the console.
On the 21st, the reporter followed the technical staff of the Second Surveying and Mapping Institute of Hunan Province to experience how the black technology of basic water resources survey - unmanned boats - became a "good helper" in their work.
Unmanned boats are essential for the storage survey of more than 400 rivers
"The unmanned boat uses sonar probes and two echoes to collect underwater geographic location, coordinates, elevation and other data in real time. We then use this data to invert the mathematical model and instantly calculate the water resource storage capacity based on different water levels." Su Cen, deputy director of the Remote Sensing Data Collection Department, told reporters that compared with traditional underwater topographic measurement equipment, which has the disadvantages of complex installation, manual calculation of data and prone to errors, unmanned boats have brought great convenience to basic water resource surveys.
The reporter learned that at the beginning of this year, according to the unified deployment of the Hunan Provincial Department of Natural Resources, the Department's Investigation and Monitoring Division guided the Hunan Provincial Second Surveying and Mapping Institute to specifically undertake the investigation of water space and lake water storage in Hunan Province, and the investigation of river and pond water storage in Changsha, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, Hengyang, Yueyang, Chenzhou and other regions. The task of Su Cen and his colleagues is to investigate the water storage of more than 400 rivers of all sizes in six prefecture-level cities including Changsha.
"Take the Liuyang River as an example. It is 224 kilometers long. In order to measure its water storage capacity, we have to conduct cross-sectional measurements every 1,000 meters or so, and more than three times at the bends or changes in river width." Su Cen explained to reporters that using traditional measurement methods to carry out such dense measurement points requires a lot of manpower. Not only is the work intensity high and time-consuming, but it is also difficult to avoid human errors.
Therefore, in this basic water resources survey, the unmanned boat became a "powerful helper" for Su Cen and his colleagues. "When the river bank is in a complex situation where humans cannot approach, such as mudflats and weeds, the unmanned boat can replace manual measurement. Because it is equipped with 5G signals, it can be remotely controlled over a very long distance and has a battery life of up to 3 hours." After saying this, Su Cen patted his "old friend" who accompanied him.
"It can also be used for basic water resource surveys in lakes and reservoirs. If you set an 'S'-shaped route for it in advance, it can sail along the set route and collect the required data." Su Cen listed all the functions of the unmanned boat. "It also has an active obstacle avoidance function. It will automatically stop about 5 meters away from obstacles."
Connected to Beidou and 5G, unmanned boats can measure water depth in 1 second
Push the joystick forward with your left hand to control the speed according to the force, and use your right hand to promptly control the unmanned boat to avoid obstacles and turn... At the measurement site, under the guidance of Luo Wang, the reporter also experienced how to control the unmanned boat.
"The unmanned boat is very easy to operate and has a high degree of intelligence. Only two technicians are needed to complete the survey." Su Cen said that the survey work is basically carried out around water bodies, which has certain safety hazards. In order to streamline personnel, reduce risks and improve accuracy, they continue to innovate basic water resource survey methods.
Since 2005, relevant departments have installed sonar probes on the bottom of ships to detect river depths. However, since sonar probes have no positioning function, they can only be connected to computers through fixed lines for positioning. In 2015, water resources basic surveys began to use unmanned boats for measurement operations. However, due to the lack of 4G and 5G signals, the sailing distance of unmanned boats is limited to 500 meters at most, which is not suitable for large rivers and lakes...
Today, unmanned boats are constantly being updated and upgraded. At present, the unmanned boat controlled by Luo Wang is equipped with Beidou chips, which can achieve centimeter-level spatial coordinate precision positioning and meet the requirements of underwater coordinate precision positioning; it is equipped with 4G and 5G antennas, which can achieve long-distance control; it is equipped with a single-beam water depth sounder, which can measure the water depth in 1 second... With just one round trip, it can accurately measure every point on the riverbed and lakebed.
"The ultimate goal of the survey is to provide scientific and accurate basis for the rational planning, development, conservation and protection of water resources, so that relevant departments can make decisions more targeted and have a clear idea in mind." Su Cen said, however, unmanned boats also have disadvantages. For example, their power comes from propellers. If there are factors such as a lot of aquatic plants and turbid water, their use will be affected. "In the future, in some special areas, we will conduct surveys by combining unmanned boats and drones."
My new identity
Water resources basic survey unmanned boat
Equipped with Beidou chip, single-beam water depth sounder, and 5G signal antenna, it has the advantages of small size and light weight, and can quickly measure information such as flow rate, depth, coordinates and geographic location. Based on the point cloud data collected, technicians use advanced algorithms to build a model that can directly calculate the storage capacity of the water body. Therefore, unmanned boats are an indispensable "weapon" in the current basic water resources survey work.
Journalist's Notes
The water resource storage capacity is connected to the lights of thousands of households on one end and to the overall economic situation on the other.
Behind the basic water resource survey are countless survey technicians who work silently. Due to the special nature of their work, they work outdoors all year round, under the scorching sun in summer and in the biting cold in winter. Dealing with soil, weeds, and mosquitoes is commonplace. It can be said that the water resource storage capacity is measured step by step by them.
The use of unmanned boats is the best demonstration of technological advancement and tool upgrades. It is precisely because of the "assistance" of unmanned boats that they have reduced some safety hazards, saved manpower and time costs, made the measured data more accurate, and provided a guarantee for further reasonable planning.
There is no limit to technological improvement. Su Cen and his colleagues used unmanned boats to conduct basic water resource surveys, bringing new ideas and methods to water resource management and demonstrating the innovative strength of survey technicians in the field of surveying and mapping. It is believed that in the future, such advanced technologies will be more widely used and contribute more to protecting water resources and promoting sustainable development.
