Page 24: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2023)

TECH FEATURE GYRO, INERTIAL NAVIGATION

Advanced Navigation

Expands DFOG Range dvanced Navigation announced the expansion of its Boreas digital ? ber- optic gyroscope (DFOG) range: the new A Series. The Boreas A90 and

AA70 are strategic-grade inertial mea- surement units (IMU) designed to deliver accel- eration and orientation with accuracy, stability and reliability under all conditions with no reliance on

GNSS. They also feature automatic gyrocompass- ing with favorable size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) characteristics.

MTR had the opportunity to discuss with Ad- vanced Navigation CEO Xavier Orr the merits of the company’s recent launch.

What hole did you see in the market, and how do the new units aim to ? ll that hole?

Our world-? rst Boreas digital ? ber-optic gyro- scope (DFOG) technology represented a step- change for ? ber-optic gyroscopes. With the addi- tion of the A Series, consisting of the Boreas A90 and A70, we now have a greater ability to meet the

Image courtesy Advanced Navigation rapidly growing demand for ultra-high accuracy so- lutions, even in the most demanding conditions.

The Boreas A90 and A70 are strategic-grade inertial mea- Can you give some speci? cs on the development?

surement units (IMU) that deliver acceleration and orienta- DFOG is Advanced Navigation’s patented technology, devel- tion with superior accuracy, stability and reliability under oped over 25 years involving two research institutions. DFOG all conditions with no reliance on GNSS. They also feature was created to meet the demand for smaller and more cost- automatic gyrocompassing with industry-leading reductions effective FOGs, while increasing reliability and accuracy.

in size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) compared to com- The ? rst generation of FOG made available in 1976 used peting systems on the market. We created this technology to analog signals and analog signal processing. The second gen- unlock new possibilities across an expanse of ? elds, from au- eration was developed in 1994 and is still used to this day. It tonomous vehicles to subsea navigation and mining. improved upon the ? rst generation with a hybrid approach us- ing an analog signal in the coil with digital signal processing.

What speci? c applications will this have for the In 2021, FOG evolved into DFOG. This third generation of maritime/subsea markets? FOG sets itself apart by being completely digital, providing

The Boreas A90 and A70 are IMUs that contain ultra-high higher performance and reliability while enabling up to 40% accuracy DFOG and high performance closed-loop acceler- reductions in SWaP-C.

ometers. Boreas A90 offers ultra-high performance, while the The Boreas DFOG range is the world’s only DFOG, and

A70 offers high performance. Featuring ultra-fast gyrocom- contains Advanced Navigation’s sensor fusion algorithm, de- passing, both systems can acquire and maintain an accurate signed to extract signi? cantly more information from the data heading under all conditions with no reliance on GNSS. This by making use of human-inspired arti? cial intelligence. It was makes them well-suited for maritime and subsea markets, designed for control applications, with a high level of health where businesses often need to conduct surveying, mapping monitoring and instability prevention to ensure stable and reli- and navigation in GNSS-denied environments. able data. Both the hardware and software are designed and 24 July/August 2023

MTR #5 (18-33).indd 24 7/21/2023 9:04:41 AM