Apparatus and method for monitoring characteristics of a liquid body

A method of monitoring characteristics of a liquid body, the method comprising:

• capturing, via an apparatus, data associated with the liquid body, the apparatus comprising:
• a vessel defining one or more hulls;
• a propulsion system secured to the vessel and operable to propel the vessel in the liquid body;
• at least one sensor supported by the vessel and configured to capture data associated with the liquid body;
• a position-detection device configured to generate position data of the vessel in the liquid body;
• a communication element configured to transmit one or more signals representative of the captured data and the position data. and
• one or more processing elements in communication with the communication element and configured to:
• divide a map of the liquid body into a grid with sections,
• direct the propulsion system to cause the vessel to traverse a path that intersects each of the sections, and
• direct the communication element to transmit the captured data in association with corresponding position data;
• receiving, via a remote device, the captured data in association with the corresponding position data;
• and
• displaying, via a user interface of the remote device, the captured data in association with the corresponding position data.

A system for monitoring characteristics of a liquid body, the system comprising:

• an apparatus comprising:
• a vessel defining one or more hulls;
• a propulsion system secured to the vessel and operable to propel the vessel in the liquid body;
• at least one sensor supported by the vessel and configured to capture data associated with the liquid body;
• a position-detection device configured to generate position data of the vessel in the liquid body;
• a communication element configured to transmit one or more signals representative of the captured data and the position data;
• and
• one or more processing elements in communication with the communication element and configured to:
• divide a map of the liquid body into a grid with sections,
• direct the propulsion system to cause the vessel to traverse a path that intersects each of the sections, and
• direct the communication element to transmit the captured data in association with corresponding position data;
• a remote device in wireless communication with the apparatus, the remote device comprising:
• a communication element in wireless communication with the apparatus and configured to receive one or more signals representative of the captured data,
• one or more memory elements configured to store the captured data,
• a user interface configured to display the captured data, and
• one or more processing elements configured to render a graph of the captured data in association with the corresponding position data on the user interface.