Hydrographic surveying has gone through various technology changes in Australia. One of the transformational technologies in hydrography is computer processing that has radically and changed hydrography. However, it did not happen immediately. That would never happen in the conservative hydrography and offshore surveying environment. It is clear when comparing the surveying of the mid-20th with today’s surveying that has impacted hydrography projects. Today, such technologies are taken for granted, but while it is clear they have been used and are omnipresent in our lives. Leaving that aside, let us talk about some of the common trends in hydrography.

Time lag to adoption

While computer processing and computers have developed and continue to develop, there is a time-lag between its full adoption and use and the next development. This is in part due to the development and production cost as well as the availability to the market. It is also perceived benefits between existing technologies and computing capabilities.

GPS

When considering GPS, the relatively high cost of a radio positioning system establishing for the few survey users and hydrographic was massively reduced when it was proven that GPS can perform reliably and cheaply. The effect of creating something that has a lot of mass appeals made it possible for a high development and engineering cost to be reduced for users. A time lag occurred as availability, coverage and performance issues were solved.

Availability and mass appeal

The availability and mass appeal of emerging hydrographic surveying in Australia, especially GPS and computers have generated a large number of innovative applications and uses. A good example could be the development of the digital cameras that have replaced the film-based cameras and the smartphones that have been used to offer location and have quality cameras. It is perhaps unlikely that most of the hydrographic and offshore surveying technologies that have developed will see such innovation and dramatic change, but their adoption may be transformational and effective with the integration into other technologies.

It is therefore good and we need to be very pleased. A further lesson is that a lot of technologies come with some unintended consequences. While not all of them are significant but some of them are. Only a few people would have thought of the modern-day DP vessel systems’ impact on reducing the need for system installations for the survey or the security implications.

Unmanned and autonomous systems

With the current technological trends and unmanned systems with ASVs and AUVs that offer advantages for certain projects, our appreciation for these trends continues to increase. Very soon we will notice some consequences that we had not expected. They can be efficient resulting in a high unit cost for a survey area or a time.

With the current hydrographic surveying, there is a potential to reduce certain types of offshore employees and increase productivity. This seems likely but they have limited sensor payloads and the technology of replacement fuel systems, autonomous operations and the data drop at each end of mission turnaround which may balance the benefits with a few challenges for certain operations.