Technology for New Sub-Bottom Imager

Sensor Technology recently designed and delivered a prototype batch of advanced array hydrophones to PanGeo Subsea for deployment on its newly developed Sub-Bottom Imager (SBI). SensorTech designed the custom hydrophones to meet specifications provided by PanGeo Subsea. Five individual array hydrophones are mounted to an ROV skid in a foldable configuration, spanning 3.3 metres when fully extended and folding to only 1.8m in width for ROV deployment and retrieval.

The PanGeo Subsea SBI delivers high-resolution volumetric images 4m wide and 5m deep and real time data processing using proprietary software.

"The hydrophones represent one of the most ambitious designs to emerge from SensorTech's new product development / prototyping department." said Sylvain Terzolo, Sensor Technology Ltd.'s lead designer on the project.

The PanGeo Subsea SBI technology is a unique fusion of beam forming, synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) processing, parametric and chirp transmission. The SBI is used for site assessment prior to pipeline laying to identify geohazards and debris lying in, or near, the pipeline route. It will be employed to determine the as-laid burial position of the pipeline and to conduct routine depth of burial and out-of-straightness re-surveys. The SBI has applications for imaging buried high voltage direct current (HVDC) cables to provide cable position and depth of burial and the detection of Unexploded Ordnances.