Page 58: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2012)

Products Featured Product High Velocity ROV Comander MK II SF With a velocity of approximately 7 knots, Mariscope has recently launched one of the fastest observation class ve- hicles. The vehicle of the type Comander MK II SF (Super Fast) was tested during trials carried out with the German Customs Brigade in the city of Hamburg. In order to test the performance of the vehicle, the trials were carried out in Hamburg?s harbor, located at the Elbe River. This port is the biggest river port in the world and since it is near the north Atlantic Sea, it is in ß uenced by tidal currents, in- creasing additionally the ß ow velocity. With the aim to test the ROV in extreme conditions, the vehicle was operated during high tide and in the points of maximum current velocity. Due to a series of innovations in the propulsion system of the ROV, the vehicle showed that not only it was able to withstand the current of the river, but it was also capable of navigate against it with ease. www.mariscope.de EvoLogics? Underwater Acoustic Modem Emulator The EvoLogics underwater acoustic modem emula- tor recently underwent successful beta-testing and will soon be available commercially. After releasing the WiSE (White Line Science Edition) line of underwater acoustic modems with an embedded network protocol development platform, Evologics GmbH continues to promote underwater networking technologies with a new tool that offers more ß exibility for underwater net- work protocol developers and end-users of EvoLogics underwater acoustic modems. EvoLogics? new solution is a real-time emulator of the S2CR-series underwa- ter acoustic modems. This tool is aimed at optimizing underwater network protocol development by taking out expensive modem hardware from the early testing stag- es - it emulates all features of the modem?s data-link protocol layer and includes a simulator of the physical protocol layer. A network of virtual underwater acous- tic modems, conÞ gured and run on EvoLogics server, can be accessed remotely and therefore provides a hardware-free framework for development and training. Any code, written and run on the modem emulator, can be later run on the actual modem hardware without any modi Þ cations, offering a time-saving solution that minimizes development costs for upper layer network protocols and simpli Þ es integration of acoustic modems into underwater infrastructure. www.evologics.de Clever Clamp Goes Commercial A device that is designed to speed up the task of attaching oceanographic instruments to cables has been licensed to a commercial company by the National Oceanography Center. Quick-Clamp was developed by Dave Jones, a Liverpool-based member of the National Oceanography Centre?s Ocean Technol- ogy and Engineering team. Quick-Clamp was designed to allow instrumentation ? such as ß uorometers, turbidity sensors, temperature, conductivity and pressure recorders - to be quickly and easily attached to, and detached, from towed (or moored) steel cables. Instruments can be Þ tted to the Quick-Clamp in advance and then simply Þ xed to the cable with a twisting motion. Removal from the cable is simi- larly rapid. This means that moorings can be wound on and off winches more quickly, saving time and money and with added safety. The system incorporates a simple but robust locking mechanism operated by one hand using an easily operated, large push-button release. Clamps are supplied to Þ t a range of instrument sizes up to 100mm diameter, although larger instruments can be considered to special order. Elkins will manufacture the Quick-Clamp and marketing and sales will be handled by Planet Ocean in Camberley. http://planet-ocean.co.ukOctober 201258 MTRMTR #8 (50-64).indd 58MTR #8 (50-64).indd 5810/3/2012 2:44:48 PM10/3/2012 2:44:48 PM