Kraken Delivers Synthetic Aperture Sonar to DSTO Australia

Kraken Sonar Systems Inc. announced today that the sea acceptance testing of its AquaPix Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar (InSAS) with Australia’s Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) was a success. The AquaPix system was integrated and tested onboard DSTO’s REMUS 600 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV).

DSTO is a national leader in safeguarding Australia by delivering valued scientific advice and innovative technology solutions for the country's defense and national security.

Thanks to the excellent cooperation with DSTO; the InSAS/AUV system integration, dockside testing and sea trials were completed in less than two weeks. Dockside tests were carried out in the shallow waters surrounding the HMAS Waterhen naval base in Sydney harbor, while deeper water tests were conducted from HMAS Creswell in Jervis Bay.

AquaPix provides higher resolution seafloor imagery at significantly longer ranges than conventional sonar, the manufacturer said. This is done by replacing traditional sonar hardware with sophisticated signal processing software. The principle of Synthetic Aperture Sonar is that the transducer array is “synthesized” in software by the coherent recombination of many sonar pings overlapping an area of interest.

Synthetic Aperture Sonar provides image quality unmatched by conventional sonars and is a key technology whenever high resolution is required. Kraken’s AquaPix generates ultra-high resolution seabed imagery (three centimeters) out to a range of 250 meters from each side of an underwater vehicle (500-meter swath).  In addition, AquaPix simultaneously delivers high quality 3D bathymetric digital terrain seabed data that exceeds the demanding standards for today’s hydrographic surveys.

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