Work

Design and Development of a Sensor-Enhanced Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROUV) Platform for Environmental Monitoring

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROUVs) have been attracting more attention lately as they are considered to be operationally versatile, capable of real-time communication, and can be fitted with various sensor payloads for environmental monitoring purposes. This study presents the design, development, and field validation of a sensor-enhanced ROUV platform tailored for environmental monitoring and aquaculture applications. The vehicle is equipped with a modular set of sensors for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and electrical conductivity (EC) along with separate signal-conditioning circuits for each sensor and real-time data acquisition from tethered architecture. The general system concept is modularity, reproducibility, and robustness in a marine environment. In situ measurements were performed at an active aquaculture site in the North Aegean Sea throughout several seasons during 2025. Using this system, depth-resolved measurements were obtained with sensor accuracies of ±0.1 °C (temperature), ±0.05 pH units, ±0.05 mg/L (dissolved oxygen), and ±2% (electrical conductivity). The following sections describe the development and aquaculture testing of the platform, which yielded stable and repeatable operation in real conditions.

Source: Sensors

DOI: 10.3390/s26030905

Authors: Dimitrios Tziourtzioumis, George Minos, Triantafyllia Anagnostaki, Eleftherios Kenanidis, Theodoros Kosmanis

Institution: International Hellenic University

Language: English

Topic: Water Quality Monitoring Technologies

Subfield: Water Science and Technology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Life below water

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137