Water quality monitoring unmanned surface vehicle helps to improve the reservoir water environment. [Image: Yu Daoyang]

It’s urgent to secure the quality of the water resources of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, and researchers from the Institute of Solid State Physics (ISSP), Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), and their collaborators have developed a water quality monitoring unmanned surface vehicle, which has been put into trial operation in Guanting Reservoir, for exactly that purpose.

“We have been working on this project for more than three years,” said Dr. Yu Daoyang, a physicist at ISSP. “The existing surface water monitoring system in China is mainly based on online monitoring of fixed stations and manual sampling for laboratory analysis. This new instrument brings many improvements.”

The microfluidic sampling system based on flow path precise control technology ensures fast, in-situ and online monitoring by unmanned vessels. Even in complex environments, the unmanned ship multi-mode control system and the cross-platform control system can ensure stability and reliability.

The researchers also solved technical problems like synchronicity of various detection methods in time and space, and anti-counterfeiting of the detection data.

Made of high-quality stainless steel to prevent corrosion, the vehicle is 3.6 meters long and 1.8 meters wide. It’s powered by pure electricity and can last for more than eight hours. The maximum speed is 10km/h, twice as much as an adult’s walking speed, and its 300-kilogram load capacity equals the weight of a big lion.

“This is the largest water quality monitoring unmanned surface vehicle in China so far,” Dr. Yu explained, “with the most complete functions and advanced intelligent software.”

The team has made a series of water surface robots, including a river and lake management platform and an intelligent water cleaning robot, and developed water ecology precision repair and process management.

Featuring fast movement and self-navigation, the products will improve the efficiency, accuracy and intelligence level of reservoir water inspection, and support environmental regulation.

Source: Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS),

Chinese Academy of Sciences