Design and Implementation of the AquaMIB Unmanned Surface Vehicle for Real-Time GIS-Based Spatial Interpolation and Autonomous Water Quality Monitoring

This article introduces the design and implementation of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV), named “AquaMIB”, which introduces a novel and integrated approach for real-time and autonomous water quality monitoring in aquatic environments. The system integrates modular hardware and software, combining sensors for temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and oxidation reduction potential with GPS, LiDAR, a digital compass, communication modules, and a dedicated power unit. Software components include Python on a Raspberry Pi for navigation and control, C on an Atmega 324P for sensing, C++ on an Arduino Uno for remote control, and C#/JavaScript for the web-based control center. Users assign task points, and the USV autonomously navigates, collects data, and transmits it via RESTful API. Field trials showed 96.5% navigation accuracy over 2.2 km, with 66% of task points reached within 3 m. A total of 120 measurements were processed in real time and visualized as GIS-based spatial maps. The system demonstrates a cost-effective, modular solution for aquatic monitoring. The system’s ability to generate real-time GIS maps enables immediate identification of environmental anomalies, transforming raw sensor data into an actionable decision-support tool for aquatic management.

• Publication year

  2026

• Venue

  Applied Sciences

• Publication date

  2026-01-24

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3390/app16031209
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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