Submerged vehicle recovery
Water Linked offers advanced technology solutions designed to optimize the recovery of submerged vehicles. Our products provide significant advantages for accurately locating, navigating to, and recovering underwater vehicles.
Recovering submerged vehicles—whether they are cars, boats, airplanes, or other sunken equipment—is a complex operation that demands precision, coordination, and advanced technology. Divers, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) play critical roles in these missions. Water Linked's cutting-edge products—including Doppler Velocity Logs (DVLs), Underwater GPS (UGPS), Acoustic Modems, and 3D Sonar—significantly enhance the capabilities of these underwater assets, improving safety, efficiency, and success rates in submerged vehicle recovery.
Supporting Divers with Advanced Tracking and Communication
Water Linked's Underwater GPS (UGPS) provides divers with real-time positioning, which is crucial for coordinating recovery efforts in complex underwater environments. By equipping a diver with our UGPS locator, the surface team can monitor their exact location, reducing risks associated with low visibility, strong currents, or hazardous conditions often encountered during recovery operations.
Accurate tracking ensures that divers can be effectively guided to the submerged vehicle and that their efforts are synchronized with those of ROVs and AUVs.
Our Acoustic Modem M16 can enable seamless communication between divers and surface teams. Through an integrated system utilizing the Modem M16, the diver can transmit vital information such as the vehicle's condition, environmental hazards, or requests for additional equipment. Continuous communication allows for immediate adjustments to recovery strategies, enhancing overall mission effectiveness.
Empowering ROVs with Precision Navigation and Imaging
Water Linked's DVLs, such as the DVL A50 and DVL A125, provide ROVs with precise velocity measurements relative to the seabed. Integrating this velocity data can facilitate enhanced maneuverability, which is essential when operating around submerged vehicles, especially in challenging conditions like strong currents or confined spaces. Improved control allows ROVs to safely attach recovery equipment or perform detailed inspections without risking collisions.
Our UGPS systems offer real-time positioning for ROVs, enabling efficient localization of the submerged vehicle and navigation through complex underwater terrains. Even near the surface or around obstacles where traditional systems struggle, our UGPS performs reliably, ensuring ROVs can navigate effectively.
The Sonar 3D-15 provides ROVs with high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging. This allows operators to see real-time detailed sonar images of the submerged vehicle, even in zero visibility conditions. Detailed imaging assists in assessing the vehicle's condition and planning the safest and most effective recovery method.
More about our Sonar 3D-15 More about our DVLs More about our UGPS
Enhancing AUV Capabilities for Search and Mapping
Our DVLs enhance AUV navigation by providing accurate velocity data, which is essential for large-area searches to locate submerged vehicles when their exact positions are unknown. By integrating our DVL with an Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), drift errors are minimized, ensuring AUVs maintain precise search patterns over long durations.
AUVs equipped with our Sonar 3D-15 can help locate and identify targets by detecting submerged vehicles using advanced sonar imaging. They also then have the capability to create detailed point clouds of underwater objects and the surrounding environment to identify hazards and optimal recovery paths.
Our Acoustic Modems can enable AUVs to communicate with surface teams by sending high-priority data such as vehicle status, location coordinates, and environmental conditions. They can then receive new instructions or revised waypoints, allowing for dynamic mission adjustments without retrieving the AUV.
In the video on the right, you can see how our Modem M16 was used to help win the RoboSub 2024 competition. The Desert WAVE team used two of our M16 modems to enable their two autonomous underwater vehicles, Dragon and Baby Dragon, to communicate with each other.
Integrating Technologies for Coordinated Recovery Operations
Water Linked's products facilitate seamless collaboration between divers, ROVs, AUVs, and surface teams. The Acoustic Modems can be used to establish reliable communication channels, enhancing coordination and efficiency. Accurate tracking with UGPS and precise navigation supported by our DVLs, help reduce risks and streamline operations. Combined data from DVLs, UGPS, and Sonar 3D-15 help provide a comprehensive understanding of the recovery environment.
Specific Applications in Submerged Vehicle Recovery
In accident investigations involving aircraft or shipwreck recoveries, AUVs equipped with our DVLs and Sonar 3D-15 can quickly locate the wreckage. ROVs can use our high-resolution 3D imaging sonar to assess the site without disturbing evidence, and divers, guided by real-time data and communication, can safely retrieve critical components for investigation.
For environmental protection, when vehicles pose environmental hazards, AUVs and ROVs are useful tools to swiftly locate and assess the submerged vehicle. Divers and ROVs can use real-time data to contain leaks or remove hazardous materials, while continuous data collection ensures that environmental impacts are minimized during recovery.
In historic preservation, recovering historic vessels or artifacts can require non-invasive imaging in zero visibility conditions. The Sonar 3D-15 provides detailed images without physical contact, and precise navigation with DVLs and UGPS enables careful maneuvering around fragile sites. Acoustic Modems can transmit data for analysis, aiding in preservation efforts.
Enhance your submerged vehicle recovery missions
By integrating Water Linked's advanced technologies into submerged vehicle recovery operations, recovery teams gain significant advantages in safety, efficiency, and effectiveness. Our DVLs enhance navigation precision for
ROVs and AUVs, while UGPS systems provide real-time positioning for all underwater assets. The Sonar 3D-15 offers unparalleled imaging capabilities in low visibility conditions, crucial for detailed assessments and planning. Acoustic Modems ensure reliable communication among divers, vehicles, and surface teams, enabling coordinated efforts and timely decision-making.
Whether it's for accident investigations, environmental protection, or historic preservation, Water Linked's products empower recovery teams to perform complex operations with confidence and precision. By leveraging our technologies, you can enhance your submerged vehicle recovery missions, ensuring successful outcomes even in the most challenging underwater environments.
Product features
Small size
Our sensors are all developed to fit on small vehicles as well as bigger ones, without compromising performance.
Light weight
Lightweight sensors allow fitment on lighter vehicles, and leave you with excess payload capacity for other equipment.
Low power consumption
Our smart, proprietary technology leaves more power for your other devices or can help free up payload capacity due to requiring
smaller battery packs.
The DVL's output was fused with other sensor data to deliver even more precise navigation and altitude control, enhancing our AUVs' ability to carry out operations and navigate with great precision.
- Craig Anderson, co-founder, Boxfish
Product options
Customer stories