Hardware developments
Development of the multi-sensor platform XOFOS. This is a further advanced Ocean Floor Observation System capable of running different cameras at the same time, take water samples, do current measurements with upward looking ADCPs and even perform MBES surveys. The system is typically deployed during deep sea habitat mapping tasks.
Development of the modular multi-body remotely operated vehicle MOMO (Modular Mobility). Envisioning a modular, small-footprint, 6000m rated vehicle for complex 6DOF seafloor survey and sampling tasks, we seek to fill a gap left open by the established and available AUV and ROV systems. We have already built and productively used the towsled MOMO for large-scale photogrammetric and volumetric hydroacoustic surveys. From 2025 onwards, we complement it with KASSIOPEIA, a mini-ROV attached to MOMO that will carry out highly articulated survey and sampling tasks in complicated (volcanic) terrain. Both systems can carry modular sensor and sampling packages adhering to standardized and actively monitored interfaces.
Advancements of a BlueRobotics 300m ROV. This small ROV became a real workhorse for our munition studies. It has been advanced to also take water samples and serves as a mooring recovery robot. The ROV comes with an USBL system for exact underwater positioning; linked to our OFOP online navigation software, detailed observations and mooring recoveries at pre-defined locations can simply be done.
Bubble detecting and monitoring systems. Two systems for quantitative analyse of bubble release from the seafloor have been developed within the DSM group. The BubbleBox is an autonomous lander system with a stereographic camera system. The also autonomous GasQuant lander system enables multibeam based detection and monitoring of gas release over larger areas. Both systems have been repeatedly used and generated in combination of mobile single-beam echosounder systems (EK80, 70khz and 37kHz split-beam transducers) technical and environmental publications.
Atmospheric gas analytics. Related to the release of methane from cold seep sites at the seafloor, DSM also invested in advancing a PICARRO CRDS system with a four air-intake system. The system dries the air and feeds four air streams successively towards the PICARRO analyser. Sucked in from different height above the sea surface, this enables to detect local gas fluxes from the sea into the atmosphere.
An ecosystem of Deep-Sea camera and lighting systems. Starting with the Deep Survey Cam for AUV Abyss in 2014, our group has (co)designed and operated a total of eight different camera systems. They have been borrowed or rented out to a host of academic collaborators, industrial partners and even the BBC. On the development of the DSC6, we worked together with Carl Zeiss Industrial Optics to create the only commercially available full-ocean depth camera that fully takes into account the underwater light refraction. Along the line, we also developed a scalable, high-power, pressure tolerant LED lighting system that completes our fully integrated, turn-key imaging system. Click here to read more about our camera fleet!
Advanced hydroacoustic mapping and navigation technology. We uniquely operate a Kraken Sonar Synthetic Aperture Sonar system in a vessel hull mounted configuration. Nevertheless, it is also possible to mount it on our tow-sled systems such as XOFOS and MOMO. Two CODA Oktopus C500 acoustic cameras can be mounted on MOMO, on an ROV or on a vessel-attached pole to generate real-time volumetric scans of underwater terrain primarily for situational awareness and gas flare detection. We also operate mobile single beam echosounders (SBES - EK80) with 38kHz (7° beam angle) and 70 kHz (17° beam angle) split-beam transducers. All these sensors are aided by our in-house EVOLOGICS 1000m rated Ultra Short Baseline USBL system, several Doppler Velocity Logs (DVL), a Phins C3 Inertial Navigation System (INS), two GNSS systems (one with and one without heading information) and RTK possibilities.
