DRMP has invested in a new piece of equipment, the Teledyne Z-Boat 1800T (Trimble Edition), for its survey fleet that will potentially provide cost savings for clients, additional service offerings, and increased safety for the firm’s staff.

The Z-Boat is a high performance portable remotely operated survey boat that collects hydrographic survey data. Hydrographic surveys measure the depth and bottom configuration of bodies of water.

Prior to investing in the boat, our surveyors either had to subcontract the work out for clients; conduct hydrographic surveys by hand using conventional methods, such as a single surveyor wading in water with a survey rod; or using manned craft while hanging equipment over the edge to take measurements.

Along with a safer method of performing surveys, the Z-Boat opens the door to more opportunities for our clients. Our goal in the future is to provide more bridge surveys and seagrass mapping for our Survey and Mapping market sector.

Client Benefits

The Z-Boat is a more efficient way of collecting data and allows us a fast deployment option that is ideal for nearshore, canals, ponds, lakes, and other shallow water environments.

Instead of having crews manually paddle a boat around and take survey shots by hand, we can collect the data in a few minutes versus a few hours, which can provide a cost savings for clients. We use the data to create surveys or update existing ones.

DRMP’s initial interest in unmanned survey vehicles (USV) for hydrographic surveys started during a pursuit for a water management district’s survey and mapping contract. The idea was to invest in technology to continue our strides in mobile data collection and give ourselves more opportunities to provide different types of services to our clients. We ended up winning first place on that contract and plan on pursuing similar contracts in the future.

Added Safety

The Z-Boat’s innovative technology allows surveyors to perform work on the water using a safe, efficient, and cost-effective approach. In Florida, our surveyors must be watchful of encounters with alligators and venomous snakes while wading in waters. Our crews would have to take time to safely clear the area and keep a lookout the entire time they are in the water. The Z-Boat provides a safe alternative. 

For one particular job, we had to survey a lake that was closed to human activity due to bacteria. However, we had no issues accessing the lake with the Z-Boat.

The boat is equipped with an Odom Hydrographic MB2 Multibeam Echosounder, integrated IMU, dual GNSS receivers, autonomous waypoint navigation, and an HD camera, allowing the operators to have full control and remotely view the data being collected in real-time.

Using the Multibeam sensor, we are getting survey grade data for the entire water body, instead of just survey data points at given intervals. This allows the final survey product to be more accurate and gives the client a better overall picture of what is going on under water.

So far, we have used the boat for quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) of existing survey data on ponds, to collect the survey data for a boat ramp at a lake, and to provide survey as-builts for a pond.

Mission Not Impossible

While the mission planning for the autonomous driving unit can be difficult – sometimes based on the site conditions— the manual driving of the boat is easy to maneuver. If the site is open and clear, you can plan a mission for the boat to collect data, and it will drive itself until the mission is complete. This is similar to how our UAS LiDAR system works.

Overall, this boat is quite user friendly and can be loaded and unloaded into the water with just two people. The battery life on the boat can last up to six hours, and the remote control can reach up to 2 kilometers.

DRMP’s Geospatial Services Group (Mobile LiDAR and UAS LiDAR) has been the main team to be trained on this equipment. Our goal is to cross-train other staff to use this technology. Ultimately, my team will be responsible for the boat’s maintenance, software, and data processing.

As technology continues to advance, DRMP is committed to investing in pioneering equipment that allows employees to do their jobs more safely and efficiently while providing clients with top-notch service and minimizing costs.