The use of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to determine the positions of surface shipping has long been the conventional method for monitoring and recording the location of marine traffic. Equipment installed high above the water surface will continually and accurately report its position, safely removed from the threat of submergence and harmful water damage.

However, not all assets have sufficient elevation to allow for such installations, so the challenge exists of how to accurately log the positions of target platforms directly on, or even under, the surface of the water while maintaining the operational integrity of the equipment used to log those positions.

Modulus Technology Ltd., an AAE Technologies Group company, has risen to this challenge, devising a family of GNSS systems that can be used on the water surface and can survive submersion of several thousand meters’ water depth.

Originally designed for towed seismic streamer systems, the compact MiniPod 101G is ideal for smaller platforms where size, weight, and limited mounting arrangements are critical factors. Depth rated to 50m, the 101G can be safely installed close to the water surface and transmit its position to a mother vessel over a range of up to 2km.

The MiniPod 103G and MiniPod 106G models are variations on the same theme, depth-rated to 1000 m and 6000 m respectively, making them perfect partners for observation-class or deep water work-class ROVs. When used in conjunction with subsea acoustic positioning systems such as USBL, real-time monitoring of vehicles in the undersea or surface environments becomes possible and enables surface tracking/recovery and lost asset relocation.

Heading up the family is the MiniPod 107GS, which takes the features and benefits of all models in the MiniPod range and combines them with IsatData Pro technology to provide a global satellite relocation service. When installed on a subsea vehicle, accurate positional information can be transmitted to any location on the globe once the vehicle has broken the water surface, a crucial component in remote asset monitoring.

All models in the MiniPod range incorporate robust and shock-mounted dual-band L1 + L2 receivers, and can be allied to the Atlas corrections service for greater accuracy.