72-foot USV launched in California

Saildrone has launched the Saildrone Surveyor, a new 72-foot uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) equipped for high-resolution mapping of the ocean seafloor.

The Surveyor is a scaled-up version of the 23-foot Saildrone Explorer and carries a sophisticated array of acoustic instruments for shallow and deep-water ocean mapping.

Like the Explorer, the Surveyor is uncrewed and uses renewable solar energy to power its robust sensor suite; the Surveyor delivers an equivalent survey capability, but at a fraction of the cost and carbon footprint of a traditional survey ship and without putting human health and safety at risk.

Learn more: https://www.saildrone.com/news/saildrone-launches-72-foot-surveyor-ocean-mapping

Video uploaded Jan. 11, 2021.