To help support its global survey operations, Blue Ocean Monitoring Ltd. has purchased a new L3Harris Technologies Iver3 AUV.

Capable of operating up to 200 meters, the Iver3 AUV delivers extremely accurate survey data, while significantly reducing project cost, time and risk. The AUV is small enough and light enough to be deployed by a single user from small work vessels or directly from shore. 

“The Iver3 AUV is a powerful addition to the expanding range of innovative technology we operate, and the services we can provide,” says Keith Wallace, chief commercial officer of Blue Ocean Monitoring.

“We have responded directly to our clients’ feedback by comprehensively assessing the latest available technology and procuring what we believe is a superior Light Class AUV for near-field infrastructure and benthic surveys.”

The Iver3 AUV is equipped with an EdgeTech 2205B sonar. Combining side-scan sonar with an interferometric Phase Differencing Bathymetry System (PDBS), the EdgeTech 2205B sonar provides a “significantly wider swath” in shallow water compared to Multibeam Echo Sounders, according to Blue Ocean.

Blue Ocean also notes that the EdgeTech 2205B sonar is the only interferometric system on the market that produces bathymetry data with no nadir gap, which furthers the efficacy of these systems for shallow water and low altitude coverage.

“We have immediate requirements for subsea pipeline inspection surveys, shallow water bathymetry surveys and benthic habitat monitoring; however, there are many other applications we are currently exploring,” says Simon Illingworth, managing director for Blue Ocean Monitoring.

“The AUV has open system architecture and a modular payload which allows us to be flexible, but it also gives us the opportunity to integrate and test emerging sensor technologies easily as they become available.”