Page 56: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2012)

MSI was founded in 1991 as a manufacturer of advanced transducer materials for ultrasound applications. The compa- nies main business involves developing and manufacturing custom components or devices to meet customers? specialized needs. MSI also sells specialty materials to those customers who choose to build their own hardware. For customers who wish to upgrade or replace their current systems, MSI can de-sign and manufacture sophisticated system-ready components and assemblies that integrate the most advanced materials technologies and innovative designs. To support customers, MSI has an extensive technical staff of mechanical, electrical, acoustical and materials engineers working alongside its experienced manufacturing and quality assurance team. MSI (Materials Systems Inc.) is an ISO 9001:2008 certi ed company that develops and manufactures sub-systems, com- ponents, and advanced materials for defense and commercial systems customers. Products include sonar and industrial ul-trasound transducers. Most products are specially engineered into customer systems; MSI can also build-to-print for cus- tomers who have their own designs. The company manufac- tures custom sonar transducers and arrays for harbor defense, side-scan, obstacle avoidance, sub-bottom pro ling, swath bathymetry, mine hunting, swimmer detection, and acoustic communications. MSI personnel participated in the earliest work on piezo- composites in the late 1970?s, when the performance bene ts were  rst demonstrated under ONR and DARPA funding. Since then, MSI has developed injection-molding techniques for mass-producing these transducers. MSI?s development of injection molding for manufacturing piezocomposite opened MSI?s piezocomposite arrays can also be curved and shaded to achieve a speci c beampattern or to achieve a hydrodynam- ic pro le when mounting the arrays to the curved hull of a vessel or AUV. Resonant transmit designs are in production at frequencies ranging 20 kHz to 1MHz. MSI (M ATERIALS SYSTEMS INC.) MSI (M ATERIALS SYSTEMS INC.) 543 Great Road, Littleton, MA 01460 543 Great Road, Littleton, MA 01460 Tel: (978) 486-0404 Tel: (978) 486-0404 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.msitransducers.com Website: www.msitransducers.com President: Dr. Leslie Bowen Employees: 38 LinkQuest Inc.6749 Top Gun Street, San Diego, CA 92121 Tel: (858) 623-9900 Sales: [email protected] Support: [email protected] LinkQuest Inc. is a manufacturer of precision acoustic instruments for off- shore oil exploration, construction, drill- ing, survey, environmental study and other oceanographic applications. Its innovative Broadband Acoustic Spread Spectrum (BASS) Technology sets new standard for acoustic communication and positioning. LinkQuest?s FlowQuest Acoustic Cur- rent Pro lers and NavQuest Doppler Velocity Logs provide competitive solu- tions for current pro ling or precision underwater navigation applications. LinkQuest is able to produce sophis-ticated underwater acoustic modems, USBL tracking systems, acoustic cur- rent pro lers and Doppler velocity logs. According to the company, its SoundLink High Speed Acoustic Mo- dems transport more than 95% of the world?s acoustic communication data. FlowQuest Acoustic Current Pro lers are designed for measuring currents and  ows in oceans, harbors, lakes and riv- ers. With its capability for signi cantly lon- ger range, standard deepwater depth rat- ing and seamless integration with third- party sensors and LinkQuest acoustic modems, the FlowQuest system is not just a current pro ler but also serves as a focal point for underwater deployments. NavQuest Doppler Velocity Logs (DVL) are for precision navigation and positioning of underwater vehicles. July/August 2012 56 MTRMTR #6 (50-65).indd 56MTR #6 (50-65).indd 568/3/2012 10:53:54 AM8/3/2012 10:53:54 AM