Page 12: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2017)

facture of deepwater buoyancy products both spherical and elliptical buoys, the

InterOcean Systems that included ADCP Buoys, distributed product line also includes the unique

San Diego, CA, USA buoyancy modules and drilling riser StableMoor Mooring Buoys. These http://www.interoceansystems.com buoyancy. Flotec was purchased in 2008 torpedo-shaped buoys are engineered by a subsea equipment manufacturer. In to house ADCPs and other sensors for

Established in 1945, InterOcean Sys- 2013, DeepWater Buoyancy acquired high current data collection applica- tems LLC has designed and manufac- the rights and designs for the legacy tions. By design, the StableMoor re- tured high performance oceanographic

Flotec material technology and products duces drag and increases mooring sta- equipment for more than 70 years. It when its parent company was in the pro- bility in extreme ? ow regimes, thereby provides specialized platform mooring cess of closing the New England facility. producing superior data sets. However, release systems, cable handling systems

Since then, DeepWater Buoyancy has DeepWater Buoyancy’s product line for deployment and recovery of critical been producing, improving and grow- goes well beyond ADCP buoys. In the sensors and equipment in the offshore ing the Flotec product line, which has oceanographic market there are bottom environment, and pollution detection been the industry standard for decades. mounts, instrument collars, and cable and control devices for reducing oil

DeepWater Buoyancy also stocks parts ? oats. For offshore oil and gas, there spills in the environment. In addition, for these legacy products and provides are installation blocks, modular buoys, InterOcean Systems also offers special- design and application assistance. deepwater marker ? oats and ROV buoy- ized design, engineering and production

At the heart of the DeepWater Buoy- ancy. In addition to DeepTec syntactic for unique applications. In 2016, the ancy product line are the subsurface foam products and custom-engineered company was acquired by the owner-

ADCP buoys. These buoys were origi- components, there are also polyurethane ship of Delmar Systems, Inc. Delmar, nally developed for Teledyne RD Instru- and fabricated metal products for use headquartered in Broussard, La., with ments’ ADCPs. Consisting primarily of subsea. technical services based in Houston, ,

Silicon Sensing Systems

Plymouth, Devon, U.K. • http://www.silconsensing.com

With a heritage dating back more than 100 expertise from the U.K./U.S. side, and silicon years, Silicon Sensing Systems and its pre- MEMS fabrication from Japan.

decessor companies have a unique record in The patented construction of its silicon delivering gyroscope systems to the marine in- MEMS gyros – based on a vibrating ring – dustry. Formed in 1910, Sperry Marine was set makes the Silicon Sensing Systems gyros up to provide practical navigation and stabili- highly resistant to shock and vibration, greatly zation systems based on the newly emerging increasing the reliability and quality of its in- gyroscope technology. Spinning wheel gyros ertial portfolio. An in-house MEMS foundry were to dominate the market for the next 50- has manufactured all of the core gyro technol- plus years until the emergence of expensive ogy since the birth of the joint venture. Among laser and ? ber-optic gyros with their enhanced its unique fabrication equipment is a deep reliability due to their solid-state non-rotating reactive-ion etching capability, developed in- design. With Sperry Marine being subsumed house in Japan. In recent years, Silicon Sens- into British Aerospace, Silicon Sensing Sys- ing has also chosen to develop and produce tems was formed in 1998 as a result of BAE Systems and a range of sophisticated accelerometers to augment its total

Sumitomo cooperating to develop and produce the next gen- inertial capability. Most recently, Silicon Sensing Systems has eration of solid-state gyroscopes, based on a silicon MEMS leveraged the inherent capability of its MEMS devices to cre- construction. Silicon Sensing Systems ? ourished, to enjoy an ate a new range of high performance gyros and inertial sys- unrivalled reputation for the production of low-cost highly re- tems. liable gyros. It led the entry into the consumer car market, Sensitive enough to detect earth rotation rate, these devices producing up to 4M devices per year – and more than 30 mil- enable a North-seeking capability to be offered to the market lion to date. Silicon Sensing Systems Ltd is based in Plym- – offering performance equivalent to ? ber-optic systems but outh, in the southwest of the U.K. The company is now jointly at a greatly reduced price. Speci? c new products now on offer owned by UTC Aerospace Systems, co-located in Plymouth, include, CRS39 and CRH02 gyros (with performance better and Sumitomo Precision Products Amagasaki, Japan. Both than 0.1deg/hr bias instability), plus DMU11 and DMU30 in- companies bring equal strength to the joint venture – inertial ertial measurement units. 2017 July/August 12

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