applied acoustics has announced the successful deployment of its factory-calibrated Pyxis INS + USBL system by UK-based survey company SEP Hydrographic, resulting in significant operational efficiencies.
Based on the Wirral, SEP Hydrographic is an ISO-certified hydrographic and geophysical survey company specializing in nearshore and coastal projects across the offshore renewables, ports, harbours, and utilities sectors. Prior to adopting the new system, the company’s workflow required a full USBL calibration. This process necessitated the manual deployment and recovery of an acoustic beacon on the seabed, a task that often consumed a full day of vessel time depending on weather conditions. Furthermore, this traditional method posed safety hazards to teams operating from small nearshore vessels.
The Pyxis INS + USBL system was selected to address these challenges through its factory-calibrated design. By combining high-performance USBL technology with an advanced Inertial Navigation System (INS), applied acoustics ensures that all necessary acoustic and chassis alignments are completed before the equipment leaves the manufacturing facility. Consequently, only installation-specific INS alignment is required once the system is in the field.
A spokesperson for SEP Hydrographic said, “The Pyxis significantly reduces vessel mobilisation delays by removing the requirement for a traditional USBL calibration, which in turn reduces weather risk. The system also increases the overall safety of the mobilisation by eliminating the requirement to deploy a beacon on the seabed.”
The implementation has delivered immediate, quantifiable improvements in efficiency and data quality. The elimination of manual seabed beacon deployments has resulted in an average saving of one full day per vessel mobilisation. In terms of performance, the system achieved sub-meter accuracy when resolving raw Side Scan Sonar (SSS) positioning. During positional verification, average SSS positional accuracy improved to ±0.92m with the Pyxis system, compared to ±1.07m using a competing USBL system.
