91天堂原創

Following the successful integration of Sonardyne International Ltd.鈥檚 Solstice Side Scan Sonar with a Bluefin Robotics Bluefin-12 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), the results of recent payload testing have produced higher quality imagery than that currently available from conventional sonar.

The most recent trials of the Bluefin-12 AUV with integrated Solstice were conducted from Bluefin Robotics鈥� headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts, where the AUV was deployed from Bluefin鈥檚 vessel, the R/V Resolution, to perform short missions around the Boston Harbour area in approximately 15 m of water.

鈥楳owing the lawn鈥�

Each mission consisted of legs of 500 m, during which the AUV flew in a pattern commonly known as 鈥榤owing the lawn.鈥� This is where the vehicle makes a pass over one area and then comes right back alongside it, running in parallel lines that will overlap and cover the entire bottom to form an image of the sea floor.

鈥淲e are pleased with how quickly we were able to integrate the sonar and collect high-quality data,鈥� said Will O鈥橦alloran, Marine Operations Manager at Bluefin Robotics.

鈥淭he imagery is some of the best I have seen in my 10 years of operating AUVs and reviewing data sets. The Solstice sonar is an excellent payload option for our clients who want exceptional imagery from low-logistics, rapidly-deployable AUVs.鈥�

鈥淎 pipeline end manifold (PLEM) surveyed during the trial provided an excellent target to show the resolution and contrast performance of Solstice. This PLEM consists of a large square template, pipe and mattress protectors; you can see where the individual elements of the mattress are clearly resolved in the imagery,鈥� commented Nick Swift, Sonardyne鈥檚 Business Manager for Maritime Security.

鈥淭his imagery is further proof of Solstice鈥檚 exceptional image quality and is thanks to advanced processing techniques, inbuilt technologies and a unique array design for minimising multipath effects.鈥�

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