OceanServer Technology, a leader in next
generation AUVs, announced today that the University of Zagreb has
purchased an Iver2 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The vehicle will
support a number of research initiatives in Croatia. The University has
ongoing efforts to collect marine data for research programs in marine
biology and the protection of marine habitat and eco-zones, with a special
focus on protecting natural resources and promoting sustainable economic
development.
The Laboratory of Underwater Systems and Technologies decided
on the Iver2 AUV for its unique combination of low-cost and scalable
technologies that can efficiently collect a range of physical, chemical and
biological data. The vehicle will help augment research into better
approaches to security and inspection, fishery management, habitat
monitoring and other research areas of importance to The Republic of
Croatia.
The Iver2 is a low-cost, simple to operate AUV system that incorporates a
truly ‘open’ software architecture and defined hardware interfaces. This
unique design has enabled OceanServer to carve out a very strong position
in the University space for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. Common
payloads include GPS navigation, CTD probe, altimeter, side scan sonar, and
several water quality sensors.
Each system includes the OceanServer VectorMap Mission Planning and Data
Presentation tool, which provides geo-registered data files that can be
easily exported to other software analysis tools. The VectorMap program
can input any geo-referenced chart, map or photo image, allowing the
operator to intuitively develop missions using simple point-and-click
navigation.
The base vehicle, with a starting price at just over $50,000, gives
university, government and commercial users an affordable base-platform for
survey applications in water quality, hydrography, security and general
research.