Page 50: of Marine Technology Magazine (April 2014)

After Oceanology International

Oceanology International Technology Post Show Report

Acclaimed Software

At Oceanology International 2014 Ac- claimed Software demonstrated its

GNSS offshore positioning bespoke software capabilities and its marine software systems. The company also showed its iObox, a synchronized serial data capture and control, allowing oper- ations to be recorded or performed to the millisecond within applications on non- real-time operating systems. The iObox is a software system which is adaptable for vessel or subsea ROV survey and in- stallation operations. www.the-acclaimed.com

MetOcean Debuts iBCN Beacons

MetOcean Data Systems introduced the iBCN Iridium beacons as part of its

NOVATECH product line. The iBCN products are the next-generation of Met-

Ocean’s NOVATECH Iridium beacons, designed for tracking and locating of assets. The self-contained submersible beacons use the bidirectional capabili- ties of the Iridium satellite telemetry system, allowing end users to receive re- al-time GPS location of their asset. Ac- cording to the manufacturer, the iBCN also boasts improved lifetime, a rugged and innovative design and the capability for Iridium and Bluetooth confi guration.

The iBCN Iridium beacons offer fi ve battery housing options: self-contained, remote head, OEM, and extended bat- tery life with the option of lithium or alkaline batteries. www.metocean.com

Seatronics Impresses with Predator,

SeeTrack CoPilot Demo

SeeByte and Seatronics demonstrated the fruits of their collaboration at OI ’14. Having announced their partnership in July last year, SeeByte and Seatron- ics have been working together to bring

OI ‘14 in London was one of the more vibrant subsea exhibitions in years, fi lled with new product and service introductions. Following is some of the news coming out of OI ’14.

Wave-Propelled Vessel Debuts

AutoNaut is a wave-propelled vessel for ocean research launched at OI ’14. Built by MOST (Autono- mous Vessels) Ltd. for very long endurance autono- mous data gathering the 3.5m AutoNaut also harvests solar energy at sea to power its electronics. The new unmanned surface vessel (USV) uses motion from the ocean to propel itself, silently, with stability and zero emissions. Fresh back from sea trials with AutoNaut in

Scotland founder Directors David Maclean and Mike

Poole were on hand at OI to explain its potential. “Au- toNaut is revolutionary,” said Poole, “because it is the fi rst commercial use of a wave propulsion technology that can be scaled from a 1 meter hull to a ship. Such zero emission power, using the energy of the waves to propel a vessel, has great future potential for the marine world.”

In sea trials off Oban AutoNaut’s high tech platform control system enabled it to follow tracks between waypoints within a few meters, automatically calculating the allowance for tide and wind as she progressed at around 2 knots, on all head- ings relative to the wind and waves. AutoNaut was released to operate autonomously, with control from ashore through 24/7 Iridium satellite communications. She also logged weather and seawater data from sensors installed on the mast and through the hull. The 3.5 meter AutoNaut USV on show in London was built for a contract under the Government-backed

Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) to develop vehicles, known generically as Long Endurance Marine Unmanned

Surface Vehicles (LEMUSV), that will carry out sustained marine research over long periods. The Technology Strategy

Board and Natural www.autonautusv.com

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