ELWAVE

ELWAVE designs and manufactures active and passive underwater electric sensing systems for subsea inspection, surveying, monitoring and security. Its active CEDAR-based Octopulse and Tetrapulse systems support underwater object detection and characterisation, while ESENSE provides ultra-high-sensitivity passive electric field measurements for cable inspection, pipeline cathodic protection surveys, environmental monitoring and underwater electric signature analysis.

Universal Detection & Target Characterization

ELWAVE’s sensors enable the detection of all types of underwater materials—metallic, non-metallic, plastics, and living organisms—in all conditions, including low visibility, buried, or congested environments. They provide valuable insights into a target’s nature, including impedance, size, location, and shape, displayed in real time on a 2D map. The concentration of a target can also be calculated.

Proven through successful demos and operations, ELWAVE’s technology brings value to marine research, offshore energy, and naval defense applications. By offering a unique and complementary detection capability, it enhances decision-making and operational efficiency across these fields.

CEDAR Technology

ELWAVE’s technology, CEDAR (Controlled Electric Detection And Ranging), draws its inspiration from the electric sense of certain fish species, replicating their natural ability to detect and identify objects in challenging environments. This bio-inspired innovation led to the creation of ELWAVE in 2018, founded to bring this unique capability to underwater operations.

CEDAR generates a low-frequency AC electric field which is disrupted by objects in the near vicinity, causing changes in current intensity. These disturbances can be measured and used to characterize the underwater environment even in the murkiest of conditions.

Learn more: CEDAR Technology

Octopulse & Tetrapulse

Based on CEDAR technology, the Octopulse and Tetrapulse sensors are capable of detecting and providing insight on the nature of any target within their electromagnetic field. Each system includes a compact electronic bottle and several electrodes.

Lightweight and compact, they can be installed permanently or quickly deployed on an existing vehicle. The systems are available for up to 300m and 6000m.

Learn more: Octopulse & Tetrapulse

Data Acquisition & Export

Octopulse and Tetrapulse provide the variation of impedance of their surroundings – via their active and passive electrodes in real time. They can be visualized on a chart or 2D Map – or exported to external navigation and GIS software.

This data acquired transit through the pod, where it can be either logged or forwarded to a vehicle or topside logging and visualization computer.

ESENSE

Passive Underwater Electric Field Sensing & Analysis

ESENSE measures underwater electric fields with sensitivity below 10 pV/m at 1 Hz. Its DC–2,000 Hz bandwidth and configurable sampling rates from 10 to 4,000 samples per second support the acquisition and analysis of weak underwater electric signals.

Offshore applications include mapping and tracking power and communication cables, assessing cable burial depth, conducting contactless pipeline cathodic protection surveys, monitoring environmental electric fields and identifying underwater electrical hazards to support diver safety.

Robust titanium dry electrodes and self-calibration support persistent deployment, with configurations enabling up to three-axis electric field measurements. ESENSE is available as an OEM solution or an assembled ESENSE 300 system with a 300 m-rated aluminium housing. A 6,000 m titanium version is available on request.

ESENSE 300 is supplied with OWLIA data acquisition and analysis software for real-time visualisation and replay, electric field plots and spectrograms, demodulation, digital filtering and CSV export.

Learn more: ESENSE Passive Underwater Electric Field Sensing

Applications