A mapped route free of underwater obstructions and providing sufficient depth for the surface craft’s draft requirements would greatly improve a boat pilot’s confidence when traveling upriver at high speed; unfortunately, this information is not typically available. One solution to this issue is to send an unmanned “scout” autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) ahead to sweep a clear path upriver for the surface craft, identifying any areas of concern — ideally, a small, single man-portable, covert AUV would provide this capability. To ensure such a vehicle stays small yet capable, the focus should be on energy and volume (packaging) efficiency. Energy efficiency will be accomplished both by optimized hardware as well as highly intelligent software, while volume efficiency will be achieved through multi-feedback sonar.