SBG Systems’ Ekinox-E inertial navigation system (INS) was selected by SeaRobotics to be integrated into its Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) 2.5.
The USV 2.5 measures 2.5 meters long – the smallest USV by SeaRobotics – and is fully equipped for bathymetric operations. It integrates:
- Ekinox-E system, which is connected to a Hemisphere Vector™ V320 GNSS compass that provides dual-antenna RTK
- Edgetech 6205 SwathBathymetric and simultaneous dual-frequency side scan sonar system
- Sound velocity probe, and
- HYPACK software
SeaRobotics, based in Florida, specializes in remotely or autonomously-operated smart vessels. The company delivered the USV 2.5 to the Center for Marine Science and Technology at North Carolina State University where it will be used as both an experiential-based teaching and research tool for seabed and water column mapping.
SBG Systems provides miniature, high-performance motion and low-cost sensing solutions to be used in a variety of industries, including unmanned vehicle control. Its Ekinox-E accepts data from any external GNSS, in this case from Hemisphere’s V320, to provide roll, pitch, heading, position, and heave data for multibeam sonar compensation and georeferencing. Its compact form factor weighs 300 grams and consumes less than 3 Watts of power.
