Subsea Navigation Unified Across Vehicle Classes

Sonardyne, a Kraken Robotics company, has expanded its SPRINT-Nav technology into a complete, scalable family of underwater navigation systems built around a single shared architecture.

For over a decade, SPRINT-Nav instruments have combined key subsea navigation sensors into a single pre-calibrated unit to save space, lower integration risk, and reduce build complexity. The expanded product lineup extends performance capabilities across vehicle scales, supporting compact inspection vehicles, towfish, work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and long-endurance extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles (XLUUVs).

Every new SPRINT-Nav form factor operates on a unified embedded software suite sharing the same web user interface and API, allowing operators and manufacturers to easily swap navigation solutions as mission requirements scale. All variants maintain a tightly integrated inertial navigation system (INS) and Doppler velocity log (DVL), true north-seeking heading, free-inertial capability, sensor fusion, and factory pre-calibration. Upgrades include faster initialization, quicker deployment, reduced offshore configuration, and compatibility with Sonardyne’s Fusion 2 software to enable long baseline (LBL) range aiding and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) calibration.

Early applications include UK-based autonomous underwater vehicle developer ecoSUB Robotics and marine survey firm Sulmara, both utilizing the compact SPRINT-Nav U navigator to enhance data collection quality. On larger platforms, high-performance free-inertial variants provide navigation for long-endurance surveillance missions requiring unaided travel.

“Marine robotics teams are being asked to do more with their vehicles: inspect assets in tighter spaces, gather cleaner survey data, support construction campaigns, operate towfish more efficiently and enable longer autonomous missions,” says Aidan Thorn, Business Development Manager, Robotics, at Sonardyne. “Each application brings different constraints, but all depend on reliable subsea navigation.

“The expanded SPRINT-Nav Family now means users can select the right balance of performance, size and depth rating for the task, without changing the way they integrate, operate or support the navigation system. Once one type of SPRINT-Nav has been integrated, the rest of the family follows the same familiar approach. That gives vehicle teams more freedom to adapt, upgrade or develop new platforms without starting again.”

The technology builds on Sonardyne’s background in subsea positioning, inertial navigation, Doppler technology, and acoustic aiding across offshore energy, defense, science, and robotics applications.

“As marine operations become more autonomous and data-led, navigation remains one of the foundations of mission success,” said John Houlder, Senior Product Manager, Navigation, at Sonardyne. “It is what gives users confidence in where the vehicle is, where data was collected and whether the same level of performance can be repeated on the next task. By bringing the expanded SPRINT-Nav family onto a common architecture, we are making that confidence easier to build into more vehicle types and carry across more applications.”