Kraken Delivers Deep-Sea Sonar System to IOSB

Kraken Sonar Systems Inc. has delivered a deep-sea rated Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar (INSAS) system to Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technology and Image Exploitation (IOSB), the company announced today.

Fraunhofer is the leading organization for applied research in Europe. Under the terms of the contract, Kraken has successfully designed, engineered and delivered a 6,000m depth rated AquaPix® MINSAS sonar system that will be integrated into Fraunhofer IOSB’s DeDAvE program.

 The AUV DeDAvE has been under development since 2013 to create a versatile and compact vehicle that is easier to handle than existing systems while providing more space for payloads and fast turn-around times. DeDAvE is able to operate in ocean depths of 6,000 meters and is equipped with state-of-the-art sensor systems, exchangeable battery and data storage modules and a distributed control infrastructure.

The modular design of the DeDAvE AUV creates a family of AUVs for different diving depths, mission durations and payload requirements. The bow section contains the obstacle avoidance sensors, one emergency weight drop system and the (optional) diving plane. By default, two energy sections with eight battery modules are located near bow and stern. The control and navigation section houses the control computer, the inertial navigation system, an acoustic modem with USBL function, the emergency and communication unit (with backup battery) and a sound velocity sensor. The AUV can handle Payload interfaces like Ethernet, serial port or CAN bus.