Kraken Robotics completes high-resolution seabed mapping for Australian defence
Kraken Robotics has successfully fulfilled a contract to deliver high-resolution seabed mapping sonar services to Precision Hydrographic Services (PHS). PHS collaborates with the Australian Department of Defence, leveraging Kraken Robotics’ advanced sonar technology for its projects.
The project focused on performing hydrographic high-resolution route surveys (RS) across various Australian ports. These surveys aimed to collect maritime geospatial information (MGI) essential for maritime domain awareness. The comprehensive data collection included detailed seabed foundation and oceanographic data, supporting the strategic needs of the Australian Department of Defence.
Large-scale project
Managing director of PHS Neil Hewitt stated: “Our decision to partner with Kraken Robotics and the KATFISH synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) system for this important defence project has proven to be highly successful. Over the course of five months, our team travelled non-stop from port to port and surveyed several thousand line-miles of Australia’s most important ports and waterways. The Kraken KATFISH performed faultlessly with not one hour of downtime.”
Kraken president and CEO Greg Reid commented: “The Australian Defence Route Survey project has provided an excellent opportunity to test and demonstrate the performance of the Kraken KATFISH system. This is the first time that a customer has undertaken a wide area, multi-port survey project of this scale with the KATFISH – anywhere in the world. To do so in a safe and efficient manner with no downtime is a great credit to the vessel crew and the teamwork of the technical and survey personnel from PHS and Kraken Robotics.”
Under Kraken’s contract, the KATFISH high-speed survey and detection solution was employed to perform high-resolution route surveys of Australian ports. The survey campaign started in January 2024 and was concluded by May 2024. This contract was awarded following a successful in-country demonstration of KATFISH for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the first quarter of 2023 and the RAN’s purchase of a KATFISH system in the second quarter of 2023.