An overview of Unmanned Surface Vehicles: Methods, practices, and applications

Over the past few decades, Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) have transitioned from concept to reality at an impressive pace. This rapid development is fueled by advances in technology and emerging demands in science, engineering, and military applications. The emphasis on USVs has evolved from purely research-focused activities to practical commercial and engineering applications. This paper presents insights gained from a decade of USV development, providing an overview of the latest methodologies, design practices, and applications. We review and compare various USVs currently in use, including those for research and field applications. In addition, we categorize and update the state-of-the-art navigation, guidance, and control methodologies that form the core capabilities of USVs, with a particular emphasis on the growing trend of learning-based and data-driven systems. As a crucial aspect, we also discuss the architectural design, implementation, and field testing of USVs. Finally, we explore their applications in three key areas: military operations, oceanographic observation, and intelligent waterborne transportation. Given that technological and practical challenges for USVs remain, we outline considerations and highlight relevant future directions.