Sas Technology
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- DSTO First Purchaser of Kraken Sonar Systems Aquapix SAS Marine Technology, Mar 2013 #56
Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) of Australia purchased an interferometric synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) system from Kraken Sonar Systems of St. John’s, Newfoundland in December 2012. This is Kraken’s first commercial sale of the AquaPix SAS system, which follows two sets of sea trials in which the system had been previously tested by Defense Research and Development Canada (DRDC) in Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, Rhode Island. Financial terms and contract details regarding the DSTO sale were not disclosed.
“We intend to run AquaPix in as wide a variety of environments as possible to ascertain its full range of capabilities,” said David Battle, Head of the Littoral Unmanned Systems Group at DSTO, which is part of Australia’s Department of Defense. He added that mine countermeasures and route survey tasks are their top priorities. Asked why DSTO selected the Kraken system, he cited the low cost of Aquapix ownership and several technical features. “We are hoping that the design emphasis on multi-path mitigation pays dividends in shallow water where SAS has been known to struggle,” Battle said, adding that the quality and consistency of data are key. Another DSTO priority is a quick and simple integration. “Reliance on correlation-based micro-navigation techniques should reduce the dependence on tight inertial navigation system coupling, thus simplifying the overall integration task.” While the contract value was not disclosed, Battle reported that the price paid was significantly less than those quoted by the other manufacturers who had been invited to tender.
A key feature of the Aquapix system that stands out in comparison to conventional sonar, said Kraken Sonar Systems President and CEO Karl Kenny, is the synthetic aperture signal processing software which “tricks the system into thinking the physical transducer array is much longer—20 to 25 times longer,” resulting in greatly increased image resolution and range. He adds that the interferomeric SAS produces detailed seabed images with 3 cm resolution to ranges over a 400-meter swath—200 meters x 2 for both sides of the vehicle. Through advanced signal processing, the transducer pings are realigned and made coherent over 1/16 of a wavelength, equivalent to the diameter of a thick human hair. “Interferometric” refers to upper and lower transducers that together enable locating a point on the seabed. In combination with the pressure sensor onboard, this provides the bathymetry. “The high resolution and potential improvements in coverage rate have generated a great deal of interest in SAS technology generally,” Battle said. “The ability to source both images and bathymetry through the same sensor seems to be emerging as a must-have feature for AUV sensors.”
Kraken Sonar Systems was spun out from Marport Deep Sea Technologies in September 2012 to focus on military and commercial applications for the SAS technology initially developed by the NATO Underwater Research Center in La Spezia, Italy. Marport acquired the intellectual property from NATO via DRDC in 2010 and further developed the technology between early 2011 and August 2012. Dr. Marc Pinto, who has been involved in the development of SAS since the early 1990s and served as Head of the Mine Countermeasures Department at NATO Underwater Research Center, is currently Chief Technology Officer at Kraken.
After spending 18 months developing the Aquapix system, Kraken’s first real-world testing opportunity came in August 2012 when they were awarded a Defense Industrial Research Program contract from DRDC to trial the system in a Repeat-Pass Interferometric SAS program. “The purpose was to collect sonar data to get very high resolution bathymetry,” said Vincent Myers, Defense Scientist at DRDC, by conducting multiple runs at varying altitudes over the same area, where mine-like targets had been placed. This also enabled them to look for subtle differences in what Myers refers to as “coherent change detection.” He added, “We also wanted the experience of using SAS in Canadian waters using one of our own vehicles.” Myers reported that Kraken’s integration of the system into the ISE-built hull section of the Arctic Explorer AUV went smoothly and there were no performance issues during the two-week trials. “Looking at the data, some images were pretty spectacular,” he recalled. “I’ve seen a lot of SAS data, and this was right up there, on par with world-leading SAS. I‘m impressed they were able to develop this technology in such a short period of time.” Kraken is currently processing the data.
The system covered a swath of 220 meters per side, reported Myers, who added that the constant resolution provided by SAS is not found in other data acquisition methods. “The problem (with the other methods),” he said, “is that their resolution degrades with range which limits their usefulness for our purposes, which is to detect naval mines.” He said another advantage of the Kraken system is that it does not require an inertial navigation system to produce the imagery. He added that while INS is still required onboard to determine the absolute position, the ability to strap on to the Aquapix system without having to interface it with INS was a plus.
The trials conducted at NUWC in November 2012 and January 2013 were supported by a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between NUWC and Kraken. The purpose was to integrate and evaluate the AquaPix SAS on one of NUWC’s medium-sized AUV’s, a 12.75-inch diameter REMUS 600 built by Hydroid Inc. Kraken’s Kenny reports that NUWC engineers provided technical input on the payload module requirements and Kraken engineers designed a drop-in wet payload section with minimal integration requirements. Within a five-day period, the conventional sidescan sonar payload section was removed and Kraken’s AquaPix SAS module was assembled, tested and installed at NUWC’s facility.
Known targets that had been laid were surveyed at varying altitudes and stand-off distances, reports Kenny who adds that there was consistent 3-cm resolution to ranges in excess of 200 meters. 3D bathymetric data was also collected to produce digital terrain models of the seabed in compliance with IHO S44 special order requirements.
Delivery of DSTO’s Aquapix system is slated for the end of March. Asked if the availability of SAS at a low price point could be a game changer, Battle replied, “SAS could be a game changer if it proves robust in a wide range of environments.
The problem has been that SAS has remained very expensive, and occasionally finicky, while real array side-scan systems have continued to evolve and improve. If SAS technology becomes more affordable and demonstrates the same kind of robustness that real array systems have become known for, then I think it will be adopted very quickly.” Myers said that a reduced-cost option for SAS will make this technology available beyond militaries—to research organizations and universities. Kenny reported that a key focus of Marport and Kraken’s R&D efforts has been to develop the technology that would enable them to price their Aquapix SAS system in the $250,000 range.
(As published in the March 2013 edition of Marine Technologies - www.seadiscovery.com) -
- Kraken Sonar Systems Inc. Marine Technology, Jul 2014 #34
higher resolution than conventional sonars. SAS was initially developed for military applications such as naval mine detection and classification. As SAS technology becomes more affordable, it’s expected to find wide use in civilian markets and become a valuable supplement to, or even a replacement for, conventional
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- MTR100 '13 Kraken Sonar Systems Inc. Marine Technology, Jul 2013 #15
with superior area survey speeds. SAS was initially developed for demanding military applications such as naval mine detection and classification. As SAS technology becomes more affordable, it’s expected to also find use in commercial markets and become a valuable supplement to, and in some cases, a replacement
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 45ronments. The new agreement will address speci? c techni- cal gaps in the UUV defense and offshore energy markets especially for long duration, multi-payload mission opera- tions where communications are often denied or restricted. As part of the new alliance, Metron’s Resilient Mission Autonomy portfolio
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 44(BUVI) to join its international sales team. Image courtesy Unique Group Sealing the deal(s) @ Oi ‘24 mating the object identi? cation process using the SAS Target in a single work? ow. The sensor’s 360-degree scanner and Assistant. The application runs in the background, leaving us- high collection rate
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 40NEW TECH OCEANOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 2024 All photos courtesy MTR unless otherwise noted NEW TECH, PARTNERSHIPS LAUNCH IN LONDON With Oceanology International now one month in the rear-view mirror, MTR takes a look at some of the interesting technologies launched before, during and after the London event.
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 33regulated industry in the world.” How- ever, commercial success depends on many factors, not least a predictable OPEX. Over the past four years, SMD has worked with Oil States Industries to calculate cost per tonne ? gures for prospective customers. Patania II uses jet water pumps to Oil States’
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 32FEATURE SEABED MINING by a sea? oor plume from its pilot collection system test. pact, nodule collection system that utilizes mechanical and The Metals Company recently signed a binding MoU with hydraulic technology. Paci? c Metals Corporation of Japan for a feasibility study on The company’s SMD
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 30FEATURE SEABED MINING bilical. It has passive heave compensation which nulli? es the necott. “The focus since then has been on scaling while en- wave, current and vessel motions that in? uence loads in the suring the lightest environmental impact,” says The Metals power umbilical. The LARS can
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 27SEA-KIT USV Maxlimer returning from HT-HH caldera in Tonga. © SEA-KIT International data and further assess ecosystem recov- ery. What is known, noted Caplan-Auer- bach, is that the impact of submarine vol- canoes on humans is rare. “The HT-HH eruption was a tragedy, but it was very unusual. It let us
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 26FEATURE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTRUMENTATION & SENSORS Kevin Mackay, TESMaP voyage leader and Center head of the South and West Paci? c Regional Centre of Seabed 2030. Kevin in the seismic lab at Greta Point looking at the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano 3D map completed with data from the TESMaP voyage
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 25Auerbach explained that ideally, “one ? ed layers of geothermal activity,” noted changes over an area of 8,000 km2. They would have both instruments: seismom- Skett, “and the change in salinity and dis- found up to seven km3 of displaced ma- eters to detect and locate subsurface ac- solved particles for
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 23elatively inactive since 2014, the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha‘apai (HT-HH) submarine volcano began erupting on December 20, 2021, reaching peak intensity on January 15, 2022. This triggered tsunamis throughout the Pa- R ci? c, destroyed lives and infrastructure, and generated the largest explosion recorded
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 202024 Editorial Calendar January/Februay 2024 February 2024 March/April 2024 Ad close Jan.31 Ad close March 21 Ad close Feb. 4 Underwater Vehicle Annual Offshore Energy Digital Edition ?2?VKRUH:LQG$)ORDWLQJ)XWXUH ?2FHDQRJUDSKLF?QVWUXPHQWDWLRQ 6HQVRUV ?6XEVHD'HIHQVH ?6XEVHD'HIHQVH7KH+XQWIRU ?0DQLS
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 19About the Author vey with the pipe tracker is not required, resulting in signi? - Svenn Magen Wigen is a Cathodic Protection and corrosion control cant cost savings, mainly related to vessel charter. expert having worked across The major advantage of using FiGS on any type of subsea engineering, design
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 18TECH FEATURE IMR There are also weaknesses in terms of accuracy because of FiGS Operations and Bene? ts signal noise and the ability to detect small ? eld gradients. In Conventional approaches to evaluating cathodic protection this process there is a risk that possible issues like coating (CP)
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 17• Integrity assessment, and otherwise covered, e.g., by rock dump. As for depletion of • Mitigation, intervention and repair. sacri? cial anodes, this can be dif? cult or even impossible to Selecting the best method for collecting the data these work- estimate due to poor visibility, the presence of
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 16TECH FEATURE IMR Image courtesy FORCE Technology OPTIMIZING CATHODIC PROTECTION SURVEY USING NON-CONTACT SENSORS By Svenn Magen Wigen, FORCE Technology he principle behind sacri? cial anodes, which are water structures, reducing the need for frequent repairs and used to safeguard underwater pipelines
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 15sensor options for longer mission periods. About the Author For glider users working in ? sheries and conservation, Shea Quinn is the Product Line Manager the Sentinel can run several high-energy passive and active of the Slocum Glider at Teledyne Webb acoustic sensors, on-board processing, and imaging
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 13nyone familiar with glider hardware options integrated for a broad Glider answers that need,” said Shea autonomous underwater ve- range of missions. Quinn, Slocum Glider Product Line hicles (AUVs) is certainly “As the use of Slocum Gliders grew, Manager at TWR. A familiar with the popular- so did
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 11assist in identifying mines and act as a neutralization device. About the Author Bottom mines pose even greater chal- David R. Strachan is a defense analyst and founder of lenges. Unlike contact mines, bottom Strikepod Systems, a research and strategic advisory mines utilize a range of sensors to
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March 2024 - Marine Technology Reporter page: 9from marinas along the western coast. The exact number of lizing laser detection systems can detect mines just below the mines, as well as their locations, remains largely a mystery, surface, even those hiding in murky water. The Airborne Laser although reports suggest that over three hundred have been