Accurate high-resolution Hydrographic survey data is a prerequisite to future blue growth economic development in coastal zone and inshore waters. The enabling technology, high frequency Multibeam SONAR, has been in existence for over two decades. Crucially, to survey the equivalent area of seabed in shallow water (< 50 m) is as expensive as the deep ocean. This is due to the proportional reduction in achievable depth-dependant coverage width per runline coupled with the increased relative complexity of the bottom topography; while survey runline patterns in deep water are comprised of straight forward parallel lines (lawn mower pattern), shallow water operations are characterised by complex contour following routines of far greater runline density. The error budget and tolerance are consequently reduced and shallow areas take longer than optimal to survey due to a combination of (a) conservative runline spacing to ensure overlap at swath extremities and (b) unexpected shallows resulting in data gaps requiring additional infill runlines. Conservative estimates indicate 10-15% of survey time is lost collecting redundant data and correcting errors. The root cause are the manual processes and procedures characterising conventional Multibeam SONAR deployment which are time consuming, prone to error, and often ad hoc, particularly in the work flow stages of survey planning, resource management, and in-the-field data collection. Relative to comparative capital intensive industries, Hydrographic survey exhibits a significant technology deficit in value added software. 3D visualisation, supervised processing, and GIS dissemination applications are well served while survey simulation, process automation, and sensor control are lacking, placing a choke on industry growth.
The Feasibility Study objectives were to verify the technological and economic viability of SonarSim’s Multibeam AutoPilot software product and formulate the commercial execution strategy to realise the full market potential of the product. MAP leverages the identified capability of SonarSim’s high-performance computational ocean acoustics SONAR simulation & processing software to unlock a tangible 10-15% efficiency improvement in coastal zone seabed survey operations. A key aim was to stimulate early adopter blue-chip end-user involvement for evaluation of the prototype productised technology. The key marketing objective was to raise the exposure of the product and to encourage market acceptance of the solution through effective disseminate of pilot projects results predicated on credible testimonials. The project helped formulate and cost the innovation based on the technical effect necessary to capture the identified market gap, the engineering resources required in productising the solution, and the acceptance metrics required to verify the product. The route to market was distilled and realisable sales pipelines and distribution networks identified, with a key objective of working towards establishing a consortium of joint venture partners for collaboration in Phase 2. The outputs are encapsulated in an elaborated business plan which formulates the demonstration, verification, prototyping, piloting, and scaling-up Phase II deliverables required to bring SINANN to industrial readiness for commercial exploitation.
