Waterway-View Imaging with a Small Unmanned Surface System

This research investigated the use of a small unmanned surface system (USS) for waterway-view imaging in an intensively managed agricultural landscape. Tile drains commonly dewater landscapes into drainage tributaries so that land uses such as agricultural production can occur. The outlets of tile drain networks, which contribute to the water balance in a river network, are often located on private property and in most instances cannot be readily cataloged. Remote sensing presents one option for identifying tile drain networks but vegetation and other topographic occlusions may obstruct identification. This work presents a case study in the Upper Sangamon River Basin in East-Central Illinois for the use of a small USS utilizing visual sensing with a 360-degree camera as an alternative method of mapping agricultural tile drain outlets for improved hydrologic and hydraulic modeling. The results are expected to serve as groundwork for future design and refinement of small unmanned surface vehicles, as well as improved human interfaces for USS, and a foundation for better understanding human-machine interaction in USS applied to agricultural, riparian, and similar domains.