Self-driving cars, self-flying planes, and self-navigating boats – that’s a very likely scenario for the increasingly autonomous vehicles of our future. In the meantime, we get to enjoy seeing the technology gradually develop. If you’re interested in autonomous boats, you might want to check out the Yamaha Breeze10, a self-controlled watercraft designed to survey bodies of water all on its own.
Aimed at performing sounding work for commercial surveyors, the boat can operate itself across a body of water, all while carrying sonar equipment for measuring sediment levels along dams and water beds. That way, robots can handle regular surveying work all on their own, taking the erstwhile mundane chore out of people’s hands.
The Yamaha Breeze10 is an electric boat that can run autonomously, with manned options for both remote and onboard navigation. It uses readings from a satellite positioning system, along with azimuth angle data, to navigate bodies of water autonomously, as well as save any route it takes for later use. Measuring 3.2 meters long with a 1.2 meter beam, it’s small enough to fit into mini-vans for convenient transport, with a special purpose hull allowing it to navigate even in shallow locations.
A dedicated mount in the center of the boat allow users to quickly add sonars to perform sounding work, all while a 0.5kW motor keeps it chugging along at maximum speeds of 4 knots. It comes with an onboard battery rated at six hours of operation.
Yamaha is launching the Breeze10 for rentals starting in August.