NUDAS - Networked Underwater Data Acquisition System
Fastwave and L-3 of Fremantle, Western Australia, have commenced a joint development project to enable near real-time data acquisition from networked subsea sensor arrays. L-3 is a world leader in the development of through water communication systems, with more than twenty years experience in the design of reliable undersea embedded software, electronics and housings for defence and oil and gas applications.
Fastwave has unrivalled expertise in developing offshore data acquistion systems from the surface via satellite telemetry.
The NUDAS system will be based on L-3`s proven through water communications technology. This has been developed in the specialist advanced research and development labs of L-3 Communications to defence standards for reliable communication needs of submarines. The technology has been proven both in deep water and the harsh multi-path shallow water environment.
Nudas will be modular so it can be upgraded and expanded, and allow for the integration of a variety of sensor types and measurement parameters. In addition to telemtered data, the system will log data on-board, with capacity to support more processing intensive applications.
A typical configuration will consist of three sensor nodes, with a central access node as shown below.
The range between the sensor nodes and the access node is specified at two kilometers, with a nominal depth rating for the system of 300 meters.
The sensor and access nodes will be built into a stable tripod platform designed for deployment and recovery in less than 30 minutes. No diving intervention is required for this process.
System endurance before battery swap-over is required is dependent on sensor type and reporting requirements. As an example, with a wave and current profiler recording current speed every 10 minutes, and wave height every hour a 200 day endurance is expected.
