Improvement To DRDC AUV Capabilities Facilitated Through Built-In Canada Innovation Program (BCIP)
Ocean Floor Geophysics In. (OFG) is pleased to announce the award of a contract for delivery and installation of two OFG Self-Compensating Magnetometer (SCM) systems to the Department of National Defence’s (DND) science and technology organization, Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), under the Built in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP).
The systems, which are supplied with a specialised Subsea Processing Unit (SPU), will be installed on a shallow-water IVER Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and a 5000m depth-rated ISE Explorer AUV, greatly enhancing the capabilities of the vehicles. Matthew Kowalczyk, CEO of OFG, commented on the new contract. “This will be the first installation of our integrated SCM+SPU system and we are extremely pleased that we have the opportunity to field it here in Canada with DRDC through the support of BCIP.” The SCM system works by running a simple AUV calibration routine at the beginning of the mission and using it to compute a suite of coefficients that can correct the data in real-time. The software then outputs the raw magnetic vectors and total field as well as the compensated magnetic vectors and total field. The installation of the SCM inside the AUV, or strapped to the hull simplifies AUV operations in many cases when compared to other AUV magnetometer solutions that require towed bodies, long poles in front of the vehicle or de-gaussed hulls. Applications for the SCM cover a wide variety of AUV missions ranging from geological mapping, mine-countermeasures, and vessel signatures, to unexploded ordnance (UXO), and marine archaeology.
