Israeli drone service provider ERELIS recently conducted pilot projects using a drone equipped with a single-beam echosounder in the Mediterranean and Dead Seas. The data were validated by authorized local surveyors and
reports from previous surveys of the same areas by Michmoret Campus – Faculty of Marine Sciences.

The reference bathymetric data were collected using a manned boat and multibeam and single-beam echosounders and demonstrated a good match between the results of new drone-based and traditional methods.

The bathymetric system consisted of a standard commercial DJI drone (UgCS SkyHub onboard computer and terrain-following system with radar altimeter) and Echologger ECT400 single-beam echosounder provided by SPH Engineering, Latvia. For data processing, the Eye4Software Hydromagic software package was employed.