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Airmar Technology Corporation

Milford, New Hampshire – www.airmar.com

Working with subsidiaries who develop products for dif- ferent markets has provided Airmar with access to tech- nologies that have opened new avenues of innovation and product development. One example is Airmar’s DX900+, which was originally developed by subsidiary, Marport, for use on commercial ? shing nets. Airmar recognized the value the product’s electromagnetic technology could have for the sailing industry, and introduced the DX900+ as a thru-hull transducer for accurately measuring speed- through-water and leeway travel without the limitations incurred by a traditional paddlewheel. Now, Airmar is working on converting that same technology for use on

VideoRay

Pottstown, PA – www.videoray.com ASVs and USVs. Airmar is also currently working to repurpose a material developed by our subsidiary in the

VideoRay is a leader in man-portable ROVs, and with defense market, MSI, that will revolutionize transducers both the largest R&D staff and the most demanding cus- as we know them. Airmar’s newest product is the 200m tomers, it continues to produce solutions to unique prob-

Mini Altimeter Kit Smart Sensor, an ultrasonic, ultra- lems. Mission Specialist technology is based on modular compact altimeter kit optimized for use on USVs, AUVs components providing unrivaled ? exibility. The largest and ROVs. The 200m Mini Altimeter measures height and most powerful Mission Specialist con? guration, off the sea? oor and underwater structures, and is rated the Defender, is optimized for precise control, heavier for a depth of up to 1,000 meters. The most signi? cant payloads, lifting, and specialized operations. The Pro 5 feature of the 200m Mini Altimeter is that it delivers trades off larger payload, massive thrust, and more pre- a full 200-meter range with output resolution to 1 cm, cise autonomous control for more portability and lower while most altimeter products offer a range of only 100 cost. Mission Specialist technology is unique in the meters or less. Another crucial feature is its minimal ability to add new sensors and accessories from a broad power consumption of just 150 mA at 12 V, so it meets range of manufacturers, as it supports a wide range of the most demanding power requirements of USVs, power and communications options. Both the Defender

AUVs and ROVs. In addition, the 200m Mini Altimeter and Pro 5 are engineered to evolve as they tackle more

Kit is available with either a 170 kHz or 200 kHz trans- advanced and complicated assignments. The core com- ducer to provide an option that would lessen the prob- ponents of each ROV are continually being evaluated to ability of overlap with other nearby acoustic devices. ensure the vessels are operating at peak performance.

It communicates NMEA 0183 serial data protocol over

And the subs are frequently being adapted to handle a

RS232 or RS422, and can be programmed to operate in greater array of accessories based on the needs and de- manual or fully automatic sounding modes. mands of customers such as the U.S. Navy.

ECS Special Projects Ltd., which is based in the United

Kingdom, has developed the Viper Mine Disposal Sys- tem exclusively for the Defender. The setup employs twin shot Viper disposal systems with the capability of attaching to multiple targets. They can be initiated using a shock tube link to the surface or by using acoustic initi- ation. The Defender is also out? tted with Micro-Ranger 2 Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) technology from Sonar- dyne, another UK-based company. The Micro-Ranger 2

USBL system is designed for shallow water tracking of divers and small ROVs as well as autonomous underwa- ter vehicles (AUVs). In recent EOD trials for the Navy, the Defender performed ? awlessly with the addition of the Viper and Micro-Ranger 2 systems.

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