Kraken Sonar for ECA AUV
Kraken Sonar (Canada) has been awarded a contract valued at over USD325,000 by ECA Robotics (France) to supply and help integrate its AquaPix Miniature Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar and Embedded Real-Time SAS Signal Processor on the A18D AUV.
Kraken's AquaPix is a sonar system providing military grade technology providing 3D seabed imaging, faster data processing and a lower cost than conventional sonar. AquaPix is designed for operation on AUVs, manned and unmanned surface vessels and towed bodies. The modular system uses the latest electronics, transducer arrays and signal processing software optimised for the demanding size, weight, power and cost constraints of unmanned maritime vehicles.
AquaPix generates bathymetry data of 25cm along-track x 25cm across-track x 5cm height co-registered and geo-referenced to the same pixel grid co-ordinates as the imagery. Operators can produce crisp seabed imagery and detailed 3D digital terrain maps of seafloor topography that exceed IHO SP-44 survey standards. The capability of generating centimetre-scale resolution in all three spatial domains also provides significant performance improvements in the detection, classification and identification of small seabed objects.
Image: Artist rendition of the ECA Robotics A18D AUV shown fitted with Kraken’s AquaPix Miniature Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar.
