Kongsberg Discovery Unveils North-Seeking MEMS
Kongsberg Discovery has unveiled a north-seeking micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) solution, which will be showcased at this year’s Oceanology International in London.
“In many ways, this opens up a whole range of new applications within navigation,” said Ane Dalsnes Storsæter, Vice President Inertial Solutions, Kongsberg Discovery. "From air and surface-based drones, to subsea ROVs and AUVs, to defence systems, marine surveying, energy applications, and beyond. The device allows for reliable, precise navigation without continuous aiding.
“Up to now, existing north-seeking gyroscopes have not been able to meet new market requirements for size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C). This MEMS solution takes the accuracy associated with larger and more costly units and repackages it in a tiny, lightweight, robust and affordable tactical grade unit that makes tactical navigation truly accessible.”
With a solid-state design tailored for high volume production and cost-conscious pricing, the unit delivers performance across a wide temperature range, in vibrating and dynamic environments.
“Obviously, there’s no GNSS when operating in the subsea domain, so using MEMS in applications where size and power consumption is of the essence is a huge advantage,” Storsæter said. “But beyond that, the need for truly resilient navigation in an ever-changing risk environment – with increased jamming and spoofing – is becoming increasingly important. Our north-seeking MEMS IMU is SWaP-C optimized and operates without a magnetometer for resilient tactical grade navigation. Used in an integrated navigation solution, the KONGSBERG MEMS device will provide a highly competitive inertial edge."
Kongsberg Discovery has a long-standing co-operation with Silicon Sensing Systems. The result is a small, robust and highly cost-effective solution that demonstrates north-seeking capabilities, based on Kongsberg Discovery’s proprietary IMU design.
The navigation solution can be seen in action at Kongsberg Discovery’s stand (D600) at Oceanology International, taking place March 10-12 at ExCel London.