Effective Hydrographic Surveying in the modern world

I am technical and sales support manager at SCCS – The Surveying Equipment Company with over 20 years’ worth of experience in all fields of topographic and hydrographic surveying. During my career I’ve supported all types of land surveys, waterways, canals and other bodies of water for national construction agencies and environmental consultants.

The Echo sounder and Hydrone setup is perfect for hydrographers, land surveyors, environmental consultants and anyone really that needs to survey the physical features such a river or a lake. The surveying can be done from a traditional boat with the Echo Sounder, but works best when attached to the Hydrone, the Radio Controlled boat platform. It’s used for general planning, environmental concerns, identifying needs such as dredging and flood risk assessments etc.

So after having a great deal of interest for this type of surveying, we wanted to be able to supply a reliable and good quality solution to the industry which would be available for both hire and sales. After some research and a little development with Sonarmite we found the Echo Sounder to be the obvious choice.

Well the health and safety requirements are a big one. It lowers risk as no men need to go on the water, its all done remotely. The Hydrone boat platform is quite large but can be carried by one person and easily fits in the back of a standard sized car. There is no need for certificates or extensive safety equipment which keeps things simple. A survey can be done by just a single operator, whereas traditionally it would take up to three. It also saves time as it’s easy to use, easy to transport and ultimately saves money which is great.

I suppose the some of the added benefits are that it can be used with long range Leica Total Stations with Bluetooth enabled and will also work with all modern Leica GNSS receivers. We are trying to develop the equipment to become fully autonomous which would allow for preprogramed routes, guided by GNSS.

It already is. We have had a lot of successful demos and our customers who have both bought and hired from us have commented on how easy it is to use and the results. We offer certified training to people new to hydrographic surveying and the use of the Hydrone with the Echo Sounder.

Only that cost of this particular setup is a real advantage. I’ve mentioned the benefits above, but in my experience the amount of time I’ve spent surveying of water this has been one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to go about it.