Hot take: those fancy auto-dredge depth controls aren't worth the hype

I ran a project on the Mississippi River last month where the crew insisted on using the auto system. It kept overcorrecting and we ended up pulling 30% less material per hour than when I just ran it manual. Has anyone else seen these do more harm than good on soft bottom conditions?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencer_moore3910d ago

Hold up on the thermostat comparison though. Those smart thermostats actually save energy by learning your schedule and adjusting when you're not home. The auto-dredge systems are more like putting a cruise control on a boat that doesn't know where the sandbars are. The problem isn't the automation itself, it's that the sensors can't read soft bottom the same way a human hand can feel the tension in the cables. On a firm bottom with consistent material, I've seen auto systems do fine, but on soft mud or silt they're basically guessing.

lopez.brooke11d ago

That 30% drop is HUGE but honestly it reminds me of how every new gadget tries to "fix" something that wasn't even broken. We do the same thing with smart thermostats at my house, they overthink everything and end up making the place feel worse than just setting it yourself.