Sonardyne reveals latest seabed-to-shore subsea technologies

Underwater technology provider Sonardyne International Ltd. has announced important new additions to its 2020 product line-up, all designed to play a role in delivering users’ data from the seabed to the shore.

With a focus on compact yet highly capable unmanned and vessel instruments, Sonardyne has unveiled SPRINT-Nav Mini, the most compact guidance and control solution in the market, as well as ADCP functionality for its Syrinx Doppler velocity log (DVL) and a smaller, lighter version of its popular Gyro USBL transceiver.

SPRINT-Nav Mini provides guidance and control outputs – orientation, velocity, altitude and depth – in a single instrument that weighs just 0.7 kg in water for the 300 m-rated version. By tightly fusing the information from each of its sensors, SPRINT-Nav Mini provides precise, robust and fixed frequency outputs, independent of each individual sensor’s update rates. In replacing the need for three separate instruments; AHRS, DVL and pressure sensors – customers will benefit from reduced cost, less cabling and additional vehicle payload capacity.

SPRINT-Nav Mini comes in a highly compact 215 mm-high and 149 mm-diameter housing and is also available in a 4,000 m-rated titanium unit of the same size making it ideal for smaller remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).

Sonardyne is also introducing its second-generation Gyro USBL. It combines the vessel heading, pitch and roll data that’s critical to Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) system performance, with an acoustic transceiver – all in one housing. But, using the experience it’s gained from designing complex and compact sensor assemblies, the new Gyro USBL is now 30% shorter and 40% lighter. That means more vessels, including small vessels of opportunity and unmanned surface vessels, can get the best performance from their USBL using an even easier to handle and install instrument.

Gyro USBL is available in two performance levels; a cost-effective version for standard USBL operations and “plus” for long layback tracking and touch-down monitoring. Both versions will be delivered pre-calibrated, in-water, enabling users to get straight to work.

Finally, Sonardyne has also increased the functionality of its Syrinx 600 kHz DVL. Specifically, Syrinx now has optional acoustic current Doppler profiling (ADCP) capability, as well as dual DVL/ADCP operations, without compromising bottom track. The ADCP data can be viewed and analysed using the new Echo Observer software.

When using SPRINT-Nav, which comes with a tightly coupled Syrinx DVL built-in, the addition of ADCP functionality really comes into its own. Users can get absolute profile velocities in the most challenging conditions while maintaining SPRINT-Nav’s class-leading navigation performance. When bottom track is not available, inertial velocities from SPRINT are used by Syrinx to compensate the ADCP water column velocities for vehicle motion. That means users get absolute water velocities through the local water column, even when they have no DVL bottom track.

Graham Brown, Sonardyne International’s Managing Director, said:

“Our customers across the energy, defence and civil markets want to do ever more in the ocean space, increasingly through remote operations. We’ve been supporting them every step of the way, from seabed to shore, with smaller and more capable systems. Our latest products and capabilities – which we had intended to demonstrate this week in London at Oceanology - will further support their goals across an even wider range of assets, from smaller ROVs to small manned and unmanned vessels of opportunity.”

About Sonardyne:

Sonardyne International Ltd is recognised as a world leader in the design and manufacture of underwater acoustic positioning, inertial navigation, wireless communications and sonar technology systems for the offshore oil and gas, ocean scientific and maritime security industries. w: www.sonardyne.com