Underwater survey services use Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to collect geospatial, acoustic, visual, environmental, and structural data below the surface. These services typically use multibeam echosounders, side-scan sonar, sub-bottom profilers, cameras, laser systems, magnetometers, and oceanographic sensors for survey operations.
This page showcases ROV and AUV survey services for hydrographic and bathymetric survey, seabed mapping, pipeline and cable survey, environmental monitoring, and search operations.
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Underwater survey services use Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to collect geospatial, acoustic, visual, environmental, and structural data below the surface, supporting underwater surveys in locations where direct access is difficult, hazardous, costly, or impractical.
ROV survey services are commonly used where real-time control and close examination are required, while AUV survey services are well suited to repeatable or wide-area autonomous data collection. USV survey services can complement these underwater approaches by collecting survey data from the surface, making them suitable for applications where operations can be conducted without deploying an underwater vehicle. Both approaches are used for subsea survey, marine survey, offshore asset survey, pipeline and cable work, seabed characterization, environmental assessment, and other underwater survey operations.
USV survey with ALSEAMAR SEAEXPLORER glider.
Hydrographic survey services use acoustic and positioning systems to measure water depth, seabed form, underwater hazards, and other features relevant to navigation, engineering, construction, and marine operations. ROVs and AUVs can extend this data collection into areas that are difficult to reach using surface vessels alone, particularly around structures, confined areas, or complex seabed terrain.
Bathymetric surveys map seafloor depth and topography using sensors such as multibeam echosounders, producing detailed representations of underwater terrain. AUV surveys are particularly effective for maintaining consistent altitude and line spacing across larger areas, while ROV surveys can provide detailed bathymetric coverage around structures and complex subsea features.
Geophysical subsea survey services investigate the characteristics and shallow structure of the seabed using instruments such as sub-bottom profilers, side-scan sonar, and magnetometers. The resulting data can support route planning, offshore construction, site assessment, and the identification of buried or exposed objects that may affect marine operations.
Seabed mapping combines acoustic, optical, positioning, and navigation data to characterize terrain, sediment features, objects, and other seafloor structures. Depending on the required resolution and sensor package, underwater surveys may generate bathymetric surfaces, sonar mosaics, imagery, or three-dimensional representations of the seabed.
ROV and AUV survey services can be used to assess offshore structures, foundations, moorings, subsea production equipment, and other installed assets, providing both positional and condition-related information. Survey data may document asset location, surrounding seabed conditions, visible damage, deformation, marine growth, scour, or other changes affecting the infrastructure.
ROV pipeline survey and AUV pipeline survey operations collect data along subsea pipelines, power cables, and telecommunications routes to assess both the asset and its surrounding environment. An underwater pipeline survey may document position, burial, exposure, free spans, seabed interaction, and nearby objects, supporting installation, maintenance, and integrity-management activities.
Environmental underwater surveys use cameras, sonar, and oceanographic sensors to document habitats, seabed conditions, water properties, and biological features across the survey area. AUVs can provide repeatable coverage across larger regions, while ROVs are better suited to detailed visual examination of specific habitats, features, or sampling locations.
Search and detection surveys are used to locate and investigate objects such as debris, wrecks, lost equipment, unexploded ordnance, and other seabed targets. Wide-area AUV surveys can first identify anomalies using sonar or magnetic sensing, after which an ROV may be deployed for closer examination where detailed confirmation is required.
ROVs and AUVs can carry different combinations of survey sensors and supporting systems depending on the survey objective, required resolution, water depth, and operating environment.
| Survey Payload | Primary Measurement | Typical Output | Suitable Applications |
| Multibeam Echosounders | Water depth and seabed geometry | Bathymetric grids, point clouds, and terrain models | Hydrographic survey, bathymetric survey, and infrastructure mapping |
| Side-Scan Sonar | Acoustic seabed imagery | Sonar mosaics and target imagery | Seabed mapping, search, and pipeline or cable survey |
| Sub-Bottom Profilers | Shallow subsurface structure | Sediment profiles and buried-feature data | Geophysical survey, route assessment, and buried-object detection |
| Forward-Looking Sonar | Objects and terrain ahead of the vehicle | Real-time acoustic imagery | Navigation, inspection, and obstacle detection |
| Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers | Water velocity | Current profiles | Environmental surveys and oceanographic data collection |
| Magnetometers | Magnetic anomalies | Magnetic field and target data | Ferrous object detection, selected cable surveys, and geophysical surveys |
| Optical Cameras and Video Systems | Visual condition and appearance | Images and video | Hull survey, close inspection, and habitat assessment |
| Laser Scanners and Laser Profilers | Shape and dimensions | Profiles, point clouds, and 3D models | Structural survey, dimensional measurement, and asset inspection |
| Environmental and Oceanographic Sensors | Water properties | Temperature, conductivity, depth, turbidity, and other datasets | Marine surveys and environmental monitoring |
| Positioning and Navigation Systems | Vehicle position, depth, motion, and trajectory | Georeferenced vehicle tracks and positioning data | Survey georeferencing, mapping, route survey, and repeat surveys |
Payload selection determines both the type of information collected and the level of detail available during processing. Sensor measurements are typically time-synchronized with vehicle positioning and navigation data so that observations can be accurately located and converted into georeferenced maps, models, imagery, and other survey deliverables.
AUV and ROV surveys can produce a range of processed datasets and reporting outputs for engineering, scientific, environmental, and operational use, with the final products depending on the sensors, positioning accuracy, survey design, and processing workflow.
ROVs and AUVs support many of the same marine survey tasks, but their operating methods make them better suited to different mission profiles, particularly in terms of control, coverage, endurance, communications, and proximity to subsea infrastructure.
| ROV Survey Operations | AUV Survey Operations |
| Direct operator control through a tether | Autonomous operation using programmed mission plans |
| Well suited to close survey and detailed inspection | Well suited to wide-area mapping and repeatable survey lines |
| Continuous real-time video and sensor feedback | Survey data are often stored primarily onboard during the mission |
| Tether can provide power and high-bandwidth communications | Endurance depends primarily on onboard energy capacity |
| Effective around infrastructure where deliberate maneuvering is required | Effective for systematic coverage over extended routes |
| Launch, recovery, and tether management may require vessel support | Launch and recovery requirements vary with vehicle size and mission |
| Tether interaction can affect operations in confined or high-current areas | Navigation accuracy and autonomous obstacle avoidance are important in complex environments |
For some projects, the two approaches are complementary rather than interchangeable, with an AUV first conducting a broad subsea survey before an ROV is deployed for detailed examination of selected targets or areas of interest.
ROV and AUV survey services are increasingly incorporating higher levels of autonomy, onboard processing, and advanced mapping technologies to improve survey efficiency, repeatability, and the amount of useful information that can be collected during each mission.
Together, these developments are expanding the scale, repeatability, and level of detail achievable across modern underwater survey and subsea survey services.
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