Surface Water Quality Monitoring System Based on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

With the increase of industrialization and human activities, the risk of surface water pollution has gradually risen, leading to a sharp increase in the demand for water quality monitoring. Traditional manual sampling suffers from subjective errors and limitations, while cable-controlled Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are constrained by cable length, thereby limiting their operational range. To address these issues, this paper proposes a surface water quality monitoring system based on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), termed ASWQ-AUV. This system employs automation technology to mitigate the subjective errors and limitations inherent in traditional manual sampling. Simultaneously, it overcomes the operational range restrictions imposed by cable length in cable-controlled ROVs, thus endowing it with greater comprehensiveness, accuracy, timeliness, efficiency, and safety. The system is comprised of an AUV, multi-parameter water quality sensors, an acoustic communication module, and a ground station control unit. It enables a fully autonomous water quality monitoring process, encompassing path planning, real-time data collection, and monitoring. Empirical tests conducted at the Danjiangkou Reservoir demonstrate the system's stable performance across different aquatic conditions, with success rates of data transmission reaching 94.12%, 93.58%, and 92.64% respectively. The ASWQ-AUV system aligns with the requirements of China's “14th Five-Year Plan” for water security[1], presenting an effective solution for surface water monitoring.