Uncrewed Systems Technology 049 - April/May 2023

106 more and more solutions come packaged with other essential technologies for conventional geospatial surveys. For instance, some bathymetric echo sounders integrate GNSS and inertial systems, connected typically by just a single wet-mate link. A crucial aspect here is the ongoing miniaturisation of INSs – that is, a fully packaged GNSS, IMU and processors – to enable them to fit inside a sonar package, dramatically improving the simplicity of integration. Also, fitting an IMU directly on the sonar head, as opposed to standard integrations in USVs and some UUVs where the GNSS- IMU is installed some way away from the sonar, minimises the number and lengths of cables needed, and reduces the chances of error sources being introduced through separate integrations. For instance, if an INS’ mount starts to come loose during a long-endurance mission, or if the two are installed at each end of a vehicle and experience different motions relative to a given target, these and similar issues could hamper the stitching and processing of sonar imagery. Pre-planning and post-processing The ongoing push by sonar developers for simplicity for end-users has driven some towork towards integrating sonar control softwarewith that for configuring ancillaries such asGNSSs or INSs, to prevent errors in customers’ installationmethods. That has helped smaller companies or research groupswhen they try to adopt autonomous hydrographic survey vehicles, as these will often lack specialist engineers for integrating their systems in-house. On top of that, software tools are April/May 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology AUSTRALIA CEE Hydrosystems +61 2 9482 5880 www.ceehydrosystems.com Sonar Technologies +61 2 9630 3533 www.sonartechnologies.com CANADA Aquatic Sensors +1 800 894 2695 www.aquaticsensors.com Aquacoustic Remote Tech +1 604 730 8117 www.aquacoustic.com Imagenex +1 604 944 8248 www.imagenex.com Nautel +1 902 823 3900 www.nautel.com Shark Marine Technologies +1 905 687 6672 www.sharkmarine.com DENMARK EIVA +45 86 28 2011 www.eiva.com TeledyneMarine +45 47 38 0022 www.teledynemarine.com FRANCE ITER Systems +33 9 72 45 73 30 www.iter-systems.com RTSYS +33 2 97 89 85 80 www.rtsys.eu Thales +33 4 75 79 85 11 www.thalesgroup.com GERMANY Atlas Elektronik +49 421 457 02 www.atlas-elektronik.com ELAC SONAR – www.elac-sonar.de Evologics +49 30 4679 862 www.evologics.de KOREA Echologger +82 2 3158 3178 www.echologger.com INDONESIA Sonar Nusantara +62 821 1118 0598 www.sonar-nusantara.co.id ITALY Leonardo Electronics +39 06 324 731 www.electronics.leonardo.com ISRAEL DSIT Solutions +972 3 5313333 www.dsit.co.il NORWAY KongsbergMaritime +47 81 57 37 00 www.kongsberg.com Maritime Robotics +47 73 40 19 00 www.maritimerobotics.com Norbit +47 98 28 37 53 www.norbit.com Some examples of sonar system suppliers