Teledyne Oceanscience and Teledyne Odom Demonstrate Z-Boat Integration at U.S. Hydro 2015
An integration with the Teledyne Oceanscience Z-Boat and the Teledyne Odom Hydrographic MB1 multibeam system was demonstrated at the U.S. Hydro 2015 from March 16 to 19. The boat surveyed the area around the docks at the Gaylord Resort National Harbor in Maryland.
The boat was equipped with a processing computer motion sensor batteries real-time appliance (RTA) and radio receiver. It also had two GPS antennas for positioning and to provide heading. The data was sent via real-time radio antenna telemetry back to shore to a radio receiver. Then the data went via an Ethernet interface to a laptop which was running HYPACK.
Teledyne Odom’s MB1 multibeam echo sounder is designed for shallow water surveying. Using both amplitude and phase bottom detection the MB1 can sound a swath of up to 120 degrees in more than 120 meters (394 feet) of water depth. Teledyne said the small system is primarily for surveyors moving from a single to multibeam and for use in shallow water. The system integrates sound velocity and motion sensors into the sonar head and integrates position into the RTA deck unit. With one cable coming from the sonar this minimizes the number of offsets to measure and enter.
The system includes the Real Time Appliance (RTA) which collects data and handles all the time stamping. It synchronizes multiple data sources in the MB1 sonar. All the data is time stamped to 0.1ms; collation of all the data takes place through one device; the system also interfaces with various motion sensor systems; and operates on a single power source.
The Teledyne Oceanscience Z-Boat 1800 is a remotely operated autonomous hydrographic survey boat. The boat surveys in shallow water areas. The Z-Boat is navigated using GNSS position and heading on the shore laptop using standard software. Teledyne said the Z-Boat is resistant to corrosion and could be ideal for water management applications such as mining tailings ponds. The Z-Boat has a standard or high-speed propulsion options and a fully autonomous waypoint navigation drone upgrade module is available for large area or repeating surveys.
