Ping DSP Unveils Turnkey Shallow Water Wide Swath Bathymetry Solution
Ocean News
Figure 1: 3DSS-iDX-450 Sonar with new Sonar Interface Unit
Ping DSP manufacturer of the 3DSSTM, continues to innovate with new shallow water bathymetry technologies with the introduction of the turnkey 3DSS-iDX-450.
The introduction of the iDX reaffirms PingDSP as the leading innovator and developer of sonar technology for shallow water hydrography and imaging. “Performance, versatility and simplicity, that’s what shallow water hydrographers want, and that’s exactly what the 3DSS-iDX is all about”, says Dr. Paul Kraeutner, PingDSP’s founder and CEO.
The PingDSP engineering team worked closely with both SBG Systems and AML Oceanographic to provide seamless integration of hydrography grade peripherals into the iDX sonar head, significantly reducing both installation and operating complexity. The newly integrated OEM Ellipse2-E INS or optional Ekinox2 provides accurate sonar attitude, heading and heave information in a GNSS aided package. While the recently unveiled AML MicroX SVT probe provides accurate sound velocity at the transducer face for seamless real-time angle corrections.
The iDX-450 also includes a new Sonar Interface Unit that offers an integrated GNSS option and provides ultra-portable field operation with as little as a laptop and battery while also supporting easy interfacing with external MRU, GNSS or INS systems aboard a fully equipped survey launch or unmanned vehicle.
Figure 2: 3DSS Sample Data from the Red River, Manitoba (courtesy Aquatics-ESI)
Ping DSP’s flagship 3DSS-DX sonar has well established the utility of combining accurate wide swath bathymetry with high resolution 3D (and 2D) imagery and the iDX now extends that capability as a complete hydrographic/imaging solution for customers who want both versatility and installation/operating simplicity without sacrificing performance.
Figure 3: Eelgrass in Bazan Bay, BC colorized in both backscatter intensity and raw bathymetry.
The compact size (4" dia. x 25" long) of the 3DSS-iDX make it easy to use on almost any size vessel or Autonomous/Remote Controlled Surface Vehicle operating in a broad range of environments such as; coastal white zones, ports and harbours, rivers and lakes, inland waterways, reservoirs, and tailings ponds. Applications ideally suited to the bathymetric and 3D imaging capabilities of the 3DSS include; shallow water hydrography, dredging, engineering surveys, habitat mapping, riverbed change detection, rapid assessment, mine counter measures, structure mapping, maritime archaeology, erosion and scour assessment, search and recovery, pipe and cable tracking, ice profiling, fisheries, and others.
