FS-3 : 3D Look Ahead Sounder
90° horizontal field-of-view with a single ping
The FS-3 is FarSounder's flagship product. This 3D forward looking sonar has been designed as a surface ship navigation device capable of detecting whales, shipping containers, and other in-water obstacles. Unlike other FLS products, the FS-3 is capable of generating a 3-dimensional depth map over its entire field-of-view with a single ping. This system is not only capable of telling you how far away targets are but also at what range and how deep the target is located.
The FS-3 operates at 60 kHz and has an accuracy of about 1.6 degrees. The range of the system is shown in the table and with depth mapping capability to at least 8 water depths.
The FS-3 is capable of generating three dimentional images with a single ping even in shallow water. It can be used for obstacle avoidance and navigation to help mariners avoid hitting shipping containers, rocks, and whales.
No moving parts are used in the FS-3 system. There is no need to wait for the system to scan in various directions to build the image. FarSounder's technology is capable of scanning every angle simultaneously.
Detection Ranges |
|
Shipping Container |
1000' |
Whale |
700'-900' |
Navigation Buoy (0 dB) |
600' |
The system includes a transducer, power module, and graphical user interface. The wet-end (transducer) is through-hull mounted. The power module connects to the wet-end and is rack or table mountable for convenient installation.
Multiple user interfaces can be connected to the system via Ethernet giving the freedom to place them away from the power module. The display includes: 3D, chart overlay, vertical slice, and volumetric display modes with color mapped to depth, user selectable depth and detection thresholds, and roll and pitch correction. A user definable alarm can be used to alert the user to the presence of in-water obstacles. The system is also capable of incorporating NMEA GPS, speed, sounder, and heading data.
This system is also available under a special developers license for scientists and other users who which to access the raw data though Matlab™ compatible data files and Microsoft Windows™ DLL programming interfaces.
95 Hathaway Center, Suite 5 - Providence, RI 02907 - USA t: 401.784.6700 f: 401.784.6708 info@farsounder.com FarSounder, Inc.