OceanServer Technology announced that the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada has taken delivery of a new vehicle. NRC is the Canadian Government's resource for research, development and technology-based innovation. The Iver2 vehicle, equipped with OceanServer’s dual port camera system, side scan sonar and backseat driver/remote helming capability will be used in a broad range of upcoming research initiatives.
The EP42 Expandable Payload (EP) platform includes a dedicated CPU with disk to enable the installation of a user-selected operating system, sensor drivers and behavioral software. In addition, the EP vehicle ships with a well-documented Application Protocol Interface (API) with select vehicle command options to permit backseat driver control of the Iver2 AUV. The EP42 vehicle provides added payload space and a larger battery system with 760 Watt Hours of total battery capacity for extended mission range.
All Iver2 AUV models come standard with OceanServer’s VectorMap Mission Planning and Data Presentation tool, which provides geo-registered data files that can be easily exported to other software analysis tools. This unique software design, coupled to a growing variety of sensors, has enabled OceanServer to carve out a strong position in the research space for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. The VectorMap program can input NOAA ENCs or any geo-referenced chart, map or photo image, allowing the operator to intuitively develop AUV missions using simple point-and-click navigation.
The base vehicle, with a starting price at just over $50,000 USD, gives university, government and commercial users an affordable base-platform for sensor development or survey applications in water quality, hydrography, sub-surface security and general research.