Sea's Expertise Delivers New Level Of Sonar Technology
Sea (Group) Ltd has launched an upgraded high-resolution bathymetric and sidescan sonar system at OTC Houston. Based on the company's established SWATHplus range of bathymetric and sidescan sonars, Sea has added a 468 kHz high frequency interferometric wide swath sonar to its range to provide increased swath performance and resolution in shallow waters, complementing its existing deeper water 117 kHz and 234 kHz versions.
Enhancements to both hardware and software algorithms improved track coverage, serial timing and synchronisation with external systems, sidescan data and processing to third party software, the operator interface, and the ability to handle larger grid files with higher resolution for longer surveys. A USB interface allows SWATHplus to be used with any modern PC or laptop. The result is a wider swath to depth ratio, on average around 10:1, with high resolution imaging maintained right up to the edge of the swath. The system is small and robust, and as swath width is insensitive to roll, the system is suitable for deployment on small vessels.
