CUSTOM PRODUCTS Facilities Offices and manufacturing space consists of all necessary departments to design and fabricate high tech products and prototypes. The machine shop is well equipped with appropriate machinery to support a high tech electronics company. In addition to standard electronics test equipment, an IBM computer is the central processing unit for the company’s microprocessor software development system. Personnel Technical employees available to the special projects team include:
TYPICAL SPECIAL PROJECTS DESIGN
AND FABRICATION Description
Personal Watercraft Surveying System (PWSS) Personal Watercraft Surveying System (PWSS) is designed as a highly mobile, hydrographic surveying vessel especially useful in shallow water areas: surf zone, coral reefs, berths and docking areas, ponds, canals, marinas, remote areas, aquatic animal habitats and military applications. (Let us know your applications). The PWSS is operated by one person. Once the PWSS equipment is turned on and initiated, the system is automatic and survey management is in the hands of the shore based, survey control manager. Safety is by no means a minor concern and, we believe, that the personal watercraft is quite safe because of maximum operator visibility, excellent maneuverability and the fact that the operator is on, not in, the craft and could get off easily, if necessary. The PWSS operator has only to steer the craft and does not have to operate any electronic devices, so no potential distractions are introduced. PWSS has a draft of only a few inches and because the craft has a jet drive, there is no prop to get damaged from hitting underwater obstacles. Ease of transport and deployment are also significant advantages over a full size survey boat. The PWSS photographs show an 85 HP jet drive Yamaha Wave Runner which has adequate front and rear compartment storage space for the electronics. Many other makes and models may be suitable, call our sales department for further advise in this regard.
APPLICATION DEPICTED IN PHOTOS Owner/operator of PWSS: Brunswick Surveying, Supply, NC. Brunswick's ongoing project using PWSS is located in Bald Head Island, NC. The project consists of a multi-year contract to repeat 30 survey lines from the beach to approximately 3000 feet offshore. The objective of the survey is to monitor the erosion of the beach, determine where the sand is going, where additional sand is coming from, what factors are contributing to the erosion and what measures can be implemented to help control the erosion. The magnitude of the tide fluctuation and the size of the expanded project posed some unique problems. Brunswick wanted to over lap the wading survey with the hydrographic survey and wanted to work at any stage of the tide. Since it is dangerous to operate a full size survey boat too near the surf zone they would be limited to a 3 hour working windows (at high tide) with a full size survey boat. In addition, the wading survey would have to then be done at low tide to get an appropriate survey line overlap. Of course, high tide falls in mid-day one week and low tide falls in mid-day the next week further complicating the situation. On top of this, they needed relatively calm weather and sea conditions. It became obvious, that a system must be devised to enable Brunswick to work on any day with appropriate weather and sea conditions. The Personal Watercraft Surveying System (PWSS) was developed to fulfill the requirements of the project described above.
EQUIPMENT The equipment selected includes and Innerspace 455 Survey Depth Sounder, Innerspace 453A RF modems, Innerspace 603 Remote Indicator and Innerspace Datalog with Guidance Software (DLWG). The GPS used in Brunswick's PWSS is an Ashtech GG24 RTK system, which was owned by Brunswick prior to acquiring the personal watercraft. Future PWSS systems will utilize Trimble GPS. Position accuracy can be either sub-meter DGPS or a few centimeters RTK. Depth resolution is .1 foot or .01 meter as selected by the operator. The GPS can be a Trimble MS750 for RTK or an AgGPS 132 or similar unit for DGPS. A special multiplexer was developed, the Innerspace 905, to synchronize the depth and RTK position data at 1PPS available in the GPS receiver. A bi-directional voice radio system is also included. The balance of the equipment includes: system batteries for power & associated charger and wiring junction box. All the equipment is mounted out-of-sight, in closed compartments, except for the 603 which provides guidance for the operator and the GPS and RF antennas and depth sounder transducer. The instrumentation is all mounted with quick release mechanisms to facilitate easy removal so the equipment may be used on projects where the personal watercraft is not applicable.
On Watercraft: The equipment installed in the personal watercraft consists of an Innerspace 455 Survey Depth sounder mounted under the rear seat, one Innerspace bi-directional RF (UHF) modem, and Ashtech GG24RTKGPS, an Innerspace 905 Multiplexer and a bi-directional voice radio VHF all mounted in the front compartment. An Innerspace 603 Remote Indicator is mounted above the steering bars in full view of the operator. The GPS antennas and three separate RF systems antennas are strategically located about the craft and the depth sounder "kickup" transducer is transom mounted. The watercraft's electronics systems are powered from a separate battery/charger installation located under the 455 sounder in the rear compartment. The watercraft's engine/starter power system is not used for the electronics except to power the battery charger that charges the separate battery that powers the electronic systems. In some applications a heave, pitch and roll compensation device may apply to remove much of these motion components, however, a heave compensator also adds substantially to the cost of PWSS.
ON SHORE On Shore: The shore based equipment consists of Innerspace Datalog With Guidance Software installed on a single port notebook computer, the RTK reference station, one half of the Innerspace bi-directional hydrographic UHF data link, the transmitter half of the RTK UHF data link and one half of the bi-directional voice radio VHF link. For some applications sub-meter DGPS may be adequate position accuracy. Advantages of using DGPS over RTK is ease of use and relatively low cost. A disadvantage of DGPS is the inherent inaccuracy in the elevation making the elevation component unusable.
OPERATION
Data collection is via Innerspace's Datalog With Guidance Software (DLWG) and is located in a shore based computer. The bi-directional Innerspace 453A RF modem system is the data link that receives depth (in Innerspace format) and position data (in NMEA format) from PWSS and sends pertinent information to the Innerspace 603 LCD helmsman display on PWSS. This information, including trackline guidance, is displayed on both the shore based computer and the 603 display on PWSS, simultaneously. RTK corrections, are sent to PWSS via the RTK GPS modem. To ensure depth/position accuracy, depth is time tagged to 1PPS furnished by the GPS system. The third RF communications system is a voice link to enable shore station personnel to communicate to the PWSS operator. DATA PROCESSING The hydrographic data collected in Datalog With Guidance Software is converted into an X, Y, Z comma delimited file for Autocad Land Development or other similar terrain modeling processing software such as Surfer or Grapher. A digital terrain model is generated from the coordinate files and cross section and topographic maps are generated from the terrain model. According to Mr. Tom Morgan, owner of Brunswick Surveying, Brunswick Surveying is pleased with the performance of the PWSS because it has enabled them to plan their survey day without consideration of the prevailing tide stages. This provides for tighter control of costs and enables a reasonable estimate of when a particular series of survey lines can be completed. Safety, is by no means a minor concern and, we believe, that the personal watercraft is quite safe because of maximum operator visibility, excellent maneuverability and the fact that the operator is on, not in, the craft and could get off easily, if necessary. Ease of transport and deployment are also significant advantages over a full size survey boat. Finally, the PWSS operator has only to steer the craft and does not have to operate any electronic devices, so no potential distractions are introduced. Once the PWSS equipment is turned on and initiated, the system is automatic and survey management is in the hands of the shore based, survey control manager. MODEL 451 DEPTH SOUNDER SIMULATOR The 451 Depth Sounder Simulator is a depth sounder service instrument. It allows a depth sounder to be tested on shore under simulated "at sea" conditions. The 451 accepts a transmitted pulse from a depth sounder, delays it and transmits it back to the sounder over the same line. The simulator output pulse, simulating a bottom return, is variable in amplitude by a front panel control. So, the receive sensitivity of the sounder can be determined for any selected depth entered from the 451 front panel. Frequency of the depth sounder being tested can be entered via the 451 front panel thumbwheels. Sonar pulse width and sound velocity in water are also front panel entries. The 451 was originally built for a military ship program and since commercialized and sold to non-military customers as well. For further details; contact our sales department
For performing specialty hydrographic surveys. Ideally suited for very shallow water, contaminated environments other hazardous areas. System includes: depth sounder, positioning (either Total Station or DGPS), RF telemetry for X-Y-Z data, RF Telemetry for remote joystick control and electric trolling motor. Data collection computer is on shore.
Specifications
Tethered Sounding System (TSS) The TSS is manually pulled across a stream, creek or river taking digital depth soundings and transmitting them to shore via RF modem. Applications: To produce cross sections for purposes of bridge scour monitoring or other DOT related projects in areas where survey boats cannot be used. The system also has application near dams and in shallow ponds (natural or man made). Equipment in Waterproof Box: Innerspace Model 445 Autotrack digital echo sounder digitizer, Innerspace Model 453A UHF data link for transmitting depths to shore, battery for internal power and prism pole with 6 prism array. Equipment On Shore: Total station manual or auto-tracking with RS232 output, Model 453A UHF data link for receiving depths from TSS, computer with Innerspace Datalog With Guidance software installed for data collection of depths and range azimuth in ASCII format. TURBIDITY
MONITORING SYSTEM (TMS)
Innerspace
has developed and offers a turnkey
turbidity monitoring system (TMS)
for the dredging of contaminated
sediments such as PCB’s, or any
project where down river/ down
current migration of bottom
sediments is undesirable. The
initial installation was in Lake
Champlain for PCB dredging by
Sevenson Environmental Services.
With contaminated sediments, it is
important that the bottom material
is not stirred up, put into
suspension and allowed to migrate
out of the immediate dredge area.
The Innerspace TMS monitors a number
of turbidity sensors mounted on the
dredge and moored in the surrounding
area. A central computer onshore
interrogates the remote turbidity
stations one at a time,
automatically, at a pre-selected
rate. The received data, turbidity
and battery condition, are displayed
on screen and logged to a disk file
on a continuous basis. An alarm is
displayed, logged and sounded if
predetermined turbidity levels are
exceeded. While
the number of turbidity stations
might vary from project to project,
a typical deployed system consists
of five strategically placed
turbidity meters with solar panels,
Innerspace 453A coded RF modem with
8 bit micro controller/digitizer,
battery charger controller, cables
and complete mounting hardware. The
shore station consists a of an
Innerspace 453A RF Modem, laptop
Pentium computer, Innerspace TMS
software and system cables. With
installation and training provided
by Innerspace, the system is truly a
turnkey environmental dredge
monitoring system.
TURBIDITY
MEASURING STATION Consisting
of: RF Antenna, Solar Panel,
453A RF Modem, Battery/Charger
Assembly, Mounting Pole and
Turbidity Sensor (not shown)
Consisting
of: Solar Cell, Rechargeable
Battery, Coded RF Modem with 8 bit
micro controller/digitizer, RF
Antenna, Turbidity Sensor and Pole
Assembly (Buoy Mount Optional) The
turbidity sensor uses infrared
technology and measures in
Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU).
In the pole mounted configuration
(shown in photo) the turbidity
sensor is protected inside the
adjustable section of aluminum pipe.
A cut out in the pipe allows the
sensor access to the water. Each
station is a complete assembly and
any number of stations can be used
on a job site. Each RF modem (radio
link) is coded so each station in an
array can be interrogated, monitored
and identified remotely from shore
by its own unique code. The station
is designed to operate on a 24 hour
basis with very low maintenance
requirements.
Turbidity
Station – insitu
TMS
DREDGE GRAPHICS SUB-SYSTEM
General While
TMS can be used for any turbidity
monitoring application, it is most
applicable to dredging projects
because of its real-time operation
and display during ongoing dredging.
For applications other than
dredging, a simpler turbidity
storage device could be used whereby
the data is collected over time and
retrieved or downloaded at any
convenient time. Real-time access to
the data would usually not be
required for non-dredging
applications. Description When
using TMS for dredging applications,
a separate dredge graphics system is
available to provide precise
position and attitude of the dredge
and to graphically display digging
operations along with turbidity in
real-time. This system consists of
two Trimble AgGPS 132 sub-meter GPS
receivers, DC power supply, Pentium
computer, Windows operating system,
SVGA monitor, dredge graphics
software, turbidity sensors and
mounting hardware.
Sevenson Environmental Dredges on site – Lake Champlain
Components
of Hazardous Waste Processing Plant
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