A new trend in recent years for hydrographic measurement in water bodies is the use of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). In the process of navigation by USVs, it is particularly important to control position precisely on the measuring profile. Precise navigation with respect to the measuring profile avoids registration of redundant data and thus saves time and survey costs. This article addresses the issue of precise navigation of the hydrographic unit on the measuring profile with the use of a nonlinear adaptive autopilot. The results of experiments concerning hydrographic measurements performed in real conditions using an USV are discussed.
Keywords: bathymetry; hydrographic survey; navigation; trajectory tracking; unmanned surface vehicle.