Yamaha has come out with a boat to ease the heavy burden of surveyors that measure sediment below dams; the BREEZE10 unmanned boat. Designed to be conned by an onboard operator, by remote or left to work autonomously, the BREEZE10 carries a sophisticated sonar and electronics suite that maps the lake bed while an electric motor drives it silently across the surface. An onboard generator can replenish the ion-lithium batteries, which makes the boat a proper hybrid.
Continue reading for more information on the Yamaha BREEZE10.
BREEZE10
Normally you would expect workers to be angry about being replaced by a robotic device, but not in this case. You see, monitoring the sediment that collects in water reservoirs created by dams is an important job. It’s also a miserable one. Primarily done in the winter when rainfall amounts are generally low, surveyors will spend half-a-day setting up a survey boat, then the rest of the day freezing their hirata buns off while trying to hold a steady course in spite of their shivering. “Funtimes for all,” said nobody, ever. The BREEZE10 does the work with no mind to the chilly weather.
Right now it’s just a civilian tool, but this craft is also being developed to support surveillance and even defense missions, so we would do well to hope that it never becomes self-aware.....
Specifications
| Length × Width × Height: | 3.21 m (registered length 2.88 m ) × 1.17 m × 0.89 m (excluding antenna and trailer) |
| Cargo weight/max. occupants: | 166.5 kg/1 person |
| Maximum output: | 500W (Yamaha Marine Motor M25) |
| Speed: | Max. 4 knots (7.2 km/h) |
| Continuous operating time: | Approx. 6 hours max. |
| Traversal line navigating accuracy: | ±1.5 m (using DGNSS) |
| Battery: | Li-ION 20Ah 24V |
| Generator output: | Max. 1.6 kW (Yamaha inverter generator EF1600iS) |
| Supported sonar: | SONIC2024, SONIC2022 (R2Sonic) |
