OceanServer Technology, a leader in next generation autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) technology, has announced that Australian Marine Ecology Pty Ltd has purchased an Iver2 AUV.
The vehicle, equipped with OceanServer’s new dual port camera system, will be used in a broad range of upcoming research initiatives including coral reef mapping in shallow lagoon habitats of the Lihou Reef in the Coral Sea. Other reef work will include ongoing monitoring and measurements of the coral bleaching and crown-of-thorns starfish. The vehicle will also be used to collect data to better examine habitat conditions, as well as for mapping of marine protected areas and the design of seabed infrastructure.
The Australian Marine Ecology personnel spend up to one hundred days in the field each year, including hundreds of hours underwater in a variety of environments and conditions. The scientific team is one of the most active in southern Australia and is heavily involved in underwater surveys for fisheries, environmental impact assessment and ecological research. The Iver2 AUV will be another critical asset for the organisation, along with fully equipped laboratories, a scientific diving team, ROV, and a variety of instrumented surface vessels already offered by Australian Marine Ecology.
The Iver Platform
All Iver2 AUV models are equipped with OceanServer’s VectorMap mission planning and data presentation tool, which provides geo-registered data files that can be easily exported to other software analysis tools. This unique software design, coupled with a growing variety of sensors, has enabled OceanServer to carve out a strong position in the research space for AUVs. The VectorMap programme can input NOAA ENCs or any geo-referenced chart, map or photographic image, allowing the operator to intuitively develop AUV missions using simple point-and-click navigation.
The base vehicle, with a starting price of just over $50,000, offers universities, governments and commercial users an affordable base-platform for sensor development or survey applications in water quality, sub-surface security and general research.
OceanServer, headquartered in Fall River, Massachusetts, provides OEMs with innovative power solutions, sensors and robotics for a variety of applications. OceanServer’s products are designed to be cost effective and easy to integrate into customer equipment. Fully engineered and well-documented subsystems can dramatically reduce time to market and enable new and innovative solutions for real-world application challenges.