Solstice Multi Aperture Side-Scan Sonar

Solstice

See Solstice in action

Capture every feature and every detail in ultra-high resolution. Solstice multi-aperture side-scan sonar significantly increases the operational envelope of your underwater vehicle by providing wide swath coverage, at high resolution – all while consuming very low power.

Solstice has been developed in partnership with Sonardyne International.

See Solstice in action

Solstice PLEM With Digital Terrain Map

At a glance

  • Mission ready; designed to support search, classify and map (SCM) and hydrographic operations
  • Small and compact arrays; optimised for low-logistic AUVs and towed bodies
  • Survey more ground in a single pass; 200 m-wide swath ensures high coverage rates
  • Along track resolution of 0.15°; best in class delivering maximum detection rates
  • Co-located side-scan image and bathy improves your situational awareness
  • Consumes only 18 W; power budget friendly increases your AUV’s endurance

Suitable for:

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Site survey and characterisation

Mine Counter Measures

Remotely Operated Vehicles

Each of Solstice’s 300 m-rated, 682 mm long, 2.11 kg arrays, has 32 multibeam elements
Solstice supports .SWF8 and .XTF output formats compatible with 3rd party software.
A supplied Interface Control Document simplifies the integration of Solstice into low-logistic AUVs
Real-time array calibration is used to dynamically recalibrate each individual hydrophone element several times a second to maintain performance.
Each of Solstice’s 300 m-rated, 682 mm long, 2.11 kg arrays, has 32 multibeam elements
Solstice supports .SWF8 and .XTF output formats compatible with 3rd party software.
A supplied Interface Control Document simplifies the integration of Solstice into low-logistic AUVs
Real-time array calibration is used to dynamically recalibrate each individual hydrophone element several times a second to maintain performance.

Benefits of Solstice for your survey operations

High tempo

Large swaths of 100m on each side ensure large coverage rates, increasing your site characterisation efficient without compromising on the detail.

Pixel perfect

Class-leading imagery is provided to enable operators to make classification decisions with greater levels of confidence in less time.

AUV or towfish

Solstice is also ideal for deployment in a towfish for MCM operations – we recommend EIVA Scanfish in a configuration called Equinox.

Overview

Solstice is the number one side-scan sonar in the world for AUVs and towed bodies. The imagery produced is recognised to be of the highest quality possible from side-scan sonar enabling detection and classification of seafloor objects across the whole swath.

Multiple apertures improve the signal-to-noise ratio performance, capturing stunning imagery at longer ranges than other sonars at the same frequency. It is interferometric too, meaning you also get co-located 3D data. It’s the ideal choice for hydrographic, archaeological, search, salvage, unexploded ordnance, and mine countermeasure missions.

Each of Solstice’s 300 m-rated, 682 mm long, 2.11 kg arrays, has 32 reciever elements. This configuration ensures that your AUV or towed body is able to gather more data with higher image fidelity.

Unlike most conventional side-scan sonars which have a fixed focus, Solstice uses a unique back-projection beam-forming technique to focus at every single pixel in the image. Imagery from conventional side-scans is also often distorted due to non-linear platform motion and may have gaps in coverage due to platform roll, pitch and yaw.

Solstice on the other hand uses knowledge of the platform motion to eliminate its effects, producing undistorted imagery with 100% ground coverage.

Accurate imaging demands highly linear element alignment, which cannot easily be achieved mechanically.

Real-time array calibration is therefore used to dynamically re-calibrate each hydrophone element several times a second to compensate for any dynamical strains causing array non-linearity.

Solstice has been designed to produce high-contrast imagery, even in shallow, littoral waters, eliminating noise from multi-path reverberation, enhancing the contrast of the imagery. It employs a unique array technology which allows wide swath coverage normally associated with wide vertical beamwidth, whilst providing the shadow contrast associated with very narrow vertical beams.

The result is improved probability of detection and decreased probability of false alarms improving the efficiency of your mine counter-measures, archaeological, search and salvage missions.

Why invest

Technical

  • Frequency band:725 kHz to 775 kHz
  • Source Level (dB re 1 uPa @ 1 m) 220 dB
  • 2 x (32 + 4) Receive channels
  • 2 x 32 Transmit Channels

Performance

  • Depth rated to 300m (600m option also available)
  • Across track resolution 37.5 mm
  • Along-track resolution 0.15°
  • Geo-rectified waterfall display
  • Image pixel resolution 30 mm x 30 mm
  • Co-registered side-scan and bathy
  • Real-time CAD/CAC option

Design

  • 2 x array flanks each 682 mm in length, weighing 2.11 kg
  • Processing electronics in their own payload pressure vessel (PPV) or as OEM
  • Simple to install and mount; full vehicle integration support provided
  • Uses widely available Subcon connectors

Ownership

  • What’s in the box: 2 x Solstice arrays, PPV Module (or OEM electronics)
  • Warranty: 1 year return to Wavefront service centre
  • Export license: Not required
  • ITAR controlled: No

Case study

Improving the endurance and navigational precision of underwater autonomous systems, while also reducing costs, could provide disruptive capability in the subsea monitoring and inspection space. Geraint West, Ocean Science Head of Market at Sonardyne, explore the challenges and solutions.

Solstice

Extending the limits of autonomous systems