**6. Conclusions**

We tested the performances of OpenSWAP, an innovative class of autonomous surface vehicles (ASV) designed to carry out geophysical surveys in di fferent shallow water environments. Such vehicles are based on open software and hardware architectures, to comply for low cost, high performances and easy customization. The possibility of carrying out surveys in shallow-water areas quickly, and at a fraction of costs relative to conventional methods, could disclose the use of these techniques to a wide range of users, allowing for the execution of repeated (4D) and cooperative missions, giving a time-variant perspective to the study of natural process in rapidly evolving environments. We note that most of the presented case studies were not feasible using conventional methods, and probably many others are waiting for such technologies to be tested. We hope that the widest availability of these vehicles would serve to promote the study of the coastal areas, and more generally the variety of shallow water environments, complex, rapidly evolving, and so important for their economic and naturalistic value.

#### **Supplementary Materials:** The following are available online at http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/16/2575/s1, Tables S1–S8.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, L.G. and G.S.; methodology, L.G., G.S., and F.D.B.; software, G.S.; validation, L.G. and G.S.; formal analysis, G.S. and L.G.; investigation, L.G., G.S., and F.D.B.; resources, L.G.; data curation, L.G., G.S., and F.D.B.; writing—original draft preparation, L.G. and G.S.; writing—review and editing, L.G.; visualization, L.G.; supervision, L.G.; project administration, L.G.; funding acquisition, L.G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by POR-FESR Emilia Romagna Project NAIADI (P.I. Luca Gasperini).

**Acknowledgments:** The authors are grateful to all people who helped in di fferent ways developing OpenSWAP in the frame of NAIADI and other projects. The list is long, but should include Alexandro Palmieri, Antonella Poggi, Federica Pasini, Gianni Biasini, Alessandro Giordano, Alfredo Liverani, Eugenio Nisini, Nicolò Marinelli, Francesco Suriano, Piero Zucchini, Valentina Ferrante and Alina Polonia.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
