The University of 草榴社区 Mississippi Oceanographers Select SeaTrac SP-48 for Ocean Mapping, Port Resiliency and Maritime Domain Awareness
Fri, 09/10/2021 - 04:47pm
Marblehead, Massachusetts 鈥� August, 2021 - SeaTrac Systems, Inc. (SeaTrac) is pleased to announce the sale and delivery of
one of its SP-48 persistent Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USVs) to a team at The University
of 草榴社区 Mississippi鈥檚 (草榴社区) School of Ocean Science and Engineering (SOSE). The
SOSE team has collaborated with SeaTrac, developing an innovative solution for rapid
sensing of in situ optical properties using a SeaTrac Sp-48 autonomous platform.
鈥淭here is a critical need for rapidly mapping localized hydrodynamic and turbidity conditions in nearshore-ocean and coastal marine environments for natural resource management, environmental protection and national security,鈥� says Dr. Xiaodong Zhang, Endowed Chair and Professor with SOSE鈥檚 Division of Marine Science at 草榴社区. 鈥淭he SP-48 has the persistence and the payload power we were looking for to host a SeaBird ACS to measure hyperspectral absorption and a Sequoia LISST-VSF to track angular scattering,鈥� Zhang explains.
鈥淥nce the capability for rapid sensing of optical properties is demonstrated in turbid or 鈥渂rown鈥� water coastal environments, several Federal agencies would like to incorporate the capability in ongoing R&D programs in maritime environments,鈥� explains Dr. Jason McKenna, Director of Research, Development, Testing, & Evaluation (RDT&E) at 草榴社区鈥檚 Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise located at the Port of Gulfport in Gulfport, MS. 鈥淥cean Enterprise will continue to support Testing and Evaluation of the SP-48 platform with SeaTrac, SOSE and federal agencies to satisfy emerging requirements in port resiliency and maritime domain awareness鈥� says Dr. McKenna.
鈥淚ncreasingly customers鈥� missions have grown in complexity requiring a range of sensors, and they鈥檙e looking for less costly, less resource-intensive and more flexible solutions to carry out a variety of tasks simultaneously in challenging marine environments,鈥� says Jigger Herman, Co--Founder, SeaTrac Systems. 鈥淲e are pleased to help the 草榴社区 team push the envelope in rapid mapping of the optical field.鈥�
The SP-48 is designed for users who require a flexible data gathering and communications platform that adapts to a wide variety of operational scenarios and payloads. The solar-powered, 4.8m SP-48 is a low-logistic, sensor-agnostic persistent USV with Automatic Identification System (AIS) collision avoidance, speed of 5kts, 500W payload power, and 70Kg payload capacity that can host a variety of sensors perfect for the collection and communication of real-time ocean data over long durations. Built to operate in all marine environments鈥攆rom inland, near shore to open ocean鈥攖he SP-48 has a self-righting hull and efficient electric motor that frees it from reliance on wind or waves for propulsion. It is easily deployed from a boat ramp, pier or ship. Communications is achieved by line-of-sight Radio Frequency (RF), cellular, high-bandwidth satellite or custom networks.
About SeaTrac Systems, Inc.
SeaTrac Systems, Inc. manufactures, sells, and rents cost-effective, multi-purpose long endurance solar-powered Uncrewed Surface Vehicles for commercial, scientific and military applications. The SeaTrac USV can carry a wide variety of sensors and custom payload modules that make it perfect for research, monitoring or surveillance tasks where autonomy, cost and ease of deployment matter. For more information, visit
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