SUBSEA MONITORING AND CONTROL VIA SATELLITE

Growing demand for wireless underwater networks has led to rapid improvements in acoustic data systems in recent years. However, getting data to and from the underwater installations has been difficult, often requiring expensive vessel, ROV or diver intervention. To address this problem, Fastwave has formed an alliance with DSPComm, an Australian based developer and manufacturer of advanced acoustic modems.

Fastwave has developed a communication interface between the Iridium Short Burst Data (SBD) system and DSPComm’s Aquacomm modems. This enables the Iridium telemetry system to act as a relay for the wireless underwater networks. The compact, autonomous FastComm RTU can be installed on a relay buoy together with the AquaComm surface unit, which communicates with the wireless underwater network. This enables subsea data to be transmitted in near real time from an underwater installation to any location in the world, and back the other way to send commands to the remote equipment.

Typical applications for the integrated subsea-satellite telemetry solution include:

• Oceanographic data gathering
• Monitoring subsea oil & gas installations
• Subsea pipeline monitoring
• Coastal and littoral surveillance
• Tsunami monitoring
• Aquaculture
• Environmental monitoring

For more information, see:

Fastwave Acoustics PDF

Article from Oil and Gas Australia, November 2005

www.dspcomm.com