Applied Research Directions of Autonomous Marine Systems for Environmental Monitoring

Autonomous marine systems (AMS) are effective tools for observing remote and harsh marine environments because of their ability to operate without relying on the direct control of human operators. Nevertheless, obtaining comprehensive AMS observations is challenging due to their limited level of autonomy and hardware constraints. Understanding the current technological limitations and future potentials of AMS is essential to developing an effective fleet with a high level of autonomy for making comprehensive observations. This paper aims to contribute to developing this understanding by studying the current state and active trends in AMS research. Through a systematic review of existing literature, the survey strategies and vehicle fleet compositions (i.e., the number, types, sensing modalities, and heterogeneity of vehicles) of AMS missions for different applications are identified, followed by a discussion of the current challenges and future directions. We present a range of ongoing efforts and future opportunities to address these critical barriers and expand the frontier of AMS technologies. Future improvement of AMS requires advances in sensors, communication, and internet of things (IoT) technologies, as well as innovations in autonomous planning and data analysis strategies. It is evident that further development in the multi-vehicle capabilities of AMS is key to maximising the potential of autonomous marine observations. These developments provide novel opportunities for AMS to deliver more scalable and persistent capabilities than they can today.