Sonardyne to Field-Test uComm Acoustic Modem

Sonardyne International Ltd. is inviting qualifying academic establishments and research institutions to apply for the Field Evaluation Programme for the company’s uComm acoustic modem product range.

Applicants with upcoming, short-term ocean science projects that would benefit from an underwater modem to wirelessly transfer data are invited to submit their details and, if successful, Sonardyne will provide a pair of uComm modems on loan for an agreed duration.

uComm is a new, simple to use underwater modem designed to reliably transfer underwater data from A to B. Once deployed, it intelligently senses its environment and adapts its configuration to ensure data is transferred in each direction as fast, as reliably and as energy efficiently as possible. The simple serial interface allows the user to ‘pair’ two uComm modems for a seamless data link using wideband signal processing which is field proven to provide unprecedented levels of robustness and flexibility in challenging acoustic environments.

Out of the box, uComm comes with automated setup and link establishment, error correction techniques, simple to use diagnostic software, an Android configuration app and the ability for anyone to start transferring data with a simple glance of the Quick Start Guide.

Applicants for the Field Evaluation programme must meet the specified criteria:

• Applicants must be currently affiliated with a recognised university or institution pursuing oceanographic studies;
• Applications must be received by Friday 16^th May 2014;
• The maximum period of equipment loan is six months from delivery;
• Users must provide uComm performance data to Sonardyne for analysis.

Commenting on the programme, Stephen Fasham, Sonardyne’s Global Business Manager for Production Subsea Asset Monitoring, said, “We’re looking for qualifying organisations with interesting and challenging applications to work with us and ensure uComm is thoroughly tested in as many different environmental and operational scenarios as possible. From this, we’re looking to monitor feedback from the programme to ensure all our objectives for uComm are being met before we begin full scale production.”