High-resolution bathymetry and sidescan sonar for the Hafmynd Gavia autonomous underwater vehicle.
The role of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for military, research and commercial applications is growing rapidly, along with the range of AUV-fitted sensors. SEA has been working with Hafmynd to develop a compact bathymetric sonar for its successful Gavia vehicle, which will provide a high resolution wide swath capability with co-registered side scan data. Known as SWATHplus-Gavia, the system uses the high frequency SWATHplus-H sonar, as the compact transducer design is a natural fit with the Gavia AUV.
The data capture unit (DCU) is fitted into a customised modular bottle which records data during the mission. At the end of the mission, this data is easily transferred to a processing unit (such as a laptop computer) for archiving, processing and display. The DCU interfaces to the vehicle via a Guest Port, is powered from the vehicle and transfers control and status information to and from it. The vehicle control system can turn off the SWATHplus-Gavia unit off altogether to save power during long transits.
Applications
- autonomous hydrographic surveys
- navigational charting
- environmental monitoring
- marine civil engineering
- wreck location