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orient myself to the ROV’s new position degree or two, but this is expected of tool with a number of key bene? ts, in- before continuing towards the contact. any gyro stabilized system. Although cluding: sonar targets are more easily

The next mission took place near a I didn’t feel this small amount of drift identi? ed; the ROV doesn’t need to stop highway overpass. Conditions were required it, I could have simply selected to stabilize the sonar image, thus transit similar to the earlier mission with the “calibrate gyro” from the top, pull-down time to a target is reduced; and bottom addition of roughly half a knot of cur- menu to eliminate any amount of drift terrain and obstacles are more clearly rent caused by outgoing tide. Repeat- that may have accumulated. Based on de? ned and thus more easily avoided.

ing the steps from earlier missions, I my ? eld experience with the Imagenex These bene? ts make the Imagenex GS identi? ed a concrete piling on the sonar 881AL-GS, I felt that as long as I was family of gyro stabilized sonars ideal roughly 50 meters away. able to locate a target on the sonar I for any application where a scanning so-

With the sonar in “Target Steering” could navigate to that target regardless nar is required, but would be especially mode, I clicked on “Acquire Target” and of what the ROV might be doing. suited to search and recovery (SAR) and then clicked on the bridge piling. The Overall I was very impressed with the operation in limited visibility.

display immediately switched from a performance of the Imagenex model full polar sweep to a 120 degree sector 881AL-GS. Construction was excellent.

Paul Unterweiser centered on the piling in the distance. Installation of the software and integra-

Paul Unterweiser is a retired U.S. Navy

Watching only the heading display and tion of the hardware into our ROV’s of? cer, USCG licensed master, ROV sonar contact while maintaining a depth system were both easy and straightfor- pilot and, for the last 10 of roughly 3 meters, I ? ew the ROV to- ward. Using the 881AL-GS was equally years, president of Marine Simulation, ward the contact. Every time the ROV straightforward and the included soft- a software company located in North turned, veered or pitched, the sonar dis- ware provided all the features and in-

Carolina specializing in play instantly responded with an equal, formation I needed. But what made the developing training simulators for compensating movement on the display. 881AL-GS really stand out was its gy-

ROV pilot schools and other marine

I did notice that, over a longer period ro-stabilization. With gyro-stabilization, industry applications.

of time, the target did seem to drift a scanning sonar becomes a very effective 4 6 April 2017–

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