Technology from Europe:
France, Germany

A better way to image the seafloor, and now it’s off-the-shelf

Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) has been well established as an airborne service and on satellites. This technology is now moving to the seafloor, and IXSEA, a subsea positioning and imagery systems provider, just launched SHADOWS, its new Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS). This is the first commercially available, off-the-shelf, high-performance sonar system with synthetic aperture processing. SAS can double the resolution while reducing survey costs.

The new sidescan sonar system is a turnkey, integrated survey solution. It provides real-time, geo-referenced mosaic output with 15-cm resolution over a 600-m swath with no gap at nadir, therefore cutting survey time and costs. The system includes SAS processing, Gap-filler frontal sonar module, GPS interface, gigabit data link, fish towing system, workstation, software, raw data storage and backup solutions.

SAS obtains multiple images from different angles that cover the same spot, providing higher resolution.

Typical applications include cable/ pipeline routing, offshore mining, drillsite selection, pre-dredging survey, small-objects search on the seabed, and shipwreck search and salvage. Moreover, the new system is compatible with IXSEA’s existing USBL positioning systems.