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The Navigator is a hand-held underwater imaging tool with strong
applications for search and recovery diving. This review focuses on some
of the features and benefits of the accessories available for the
Navigator, applications for the unit and thoughts from first-time users.
Los Angeles City Lifeguards team up with a Ventura County Sheriff’s
diver for a Shark Marine Navigator demo.
Some particularly notable features are that the Windows XP-based unit is
easy to operate while wearing gloves and during low visibility
conditions. The 5-inch LCD screen provides enough illumination to make a
dive light unnecessary. The device is easily portable with a dry weight
of 15 pounds, and is neutral in the water.
Jim and Wendy Garrington from Shark Marine brought the Navigator to Lake
Piru in sunny Southern California for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Dive
Team and the Los Angeles City Lifeguards to evaluate. On this particular
day, however, Southern California failed to uphold its reputation of
never ending fun in the sun, as the air temperature on the docks read 40
degrees and the piercing icy winds howled throughout the day bringing
the chill factor down to what felt to be about 20 degrees. Only one
diver from the Ventura team was “man” enough to demo the unit in the
lake along with the three LA City guards. Prior to arrival, Jim
Garrington had downloaded a map of Lake Piru off Goggle Earth from the
internet. With the Windows XP operating system, it was as easy to use
the Navigator to zoom in on the search area, as it is to use a normal
laptop PC. This feature integrates with the imaging and positioning
accessories to allow for more complete and accurate documentation of the
search area. It can be especially effective when adding sonar and
satellite imagery into GIS.
Accessories/Options
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BlueView
multibeam sonar gives real time imaging of the search area.
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Multibeam
Profiler gives 3D bottom profile
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Scanning
sonar aids in target location, measuring and mapping.
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Magnetometer
probe for detecting ferrous metals.
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WAAS GPS for
positioning at surface. Can be deployed to surface in shallow
waters.
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Doppler
bottom tracking for positioning when GPS is not available
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Mounting
options can change unit from diver-held to boat, surface or DPV
deployed.
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Digital
camera for documentation.
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Keyboard
with touch pad for mission planning and data logging.
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Dive Log
Software (Standard) records dive stats, GPS positions and headings.
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Batteries
last approximately two hours, quick charge with AC DC charger.
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Splash-proof
case holds unit, accessories and batteries.
All accessory
ports are “wet” plugs. Accessories can easily be swapped in the field
with no fear of water-damage to the electronics. Shark Marine
Technologies took care to make this system as diver-friendly as
possible.
Applications
Public safety diving is inherently dangerous. Anytime technology can be
used to lessen the risk to divers, it should be given serious
consideration. The Navigator has the potential to significantly lessen
search time for divers.
The Navigator can be equipped with either a 450-foot range or a 180-foot
range high resolution BlueView imaging sonar. The range can be adjusted
and fine-tuned underwater by the diver as needed just by a turn of a
knob. The imaging sonar simply shows what is out there in the area to be
searched no matter what the visibility happens to be. Images are clear
and easy to interpret. The diver only has to scan the area, then use the
navigator to find his/her way to the object to begin
documentation/recovery procedures.
WAAS GPS surface positioning can be recorded by the Navigator Dive Log
software allowing the search path to be geo-referenced into a downloaded
map of the area. The GPS is plugged into one of the many “wet” ports for
accessories. When diving at shallow depths, the Navigator can be
equipped with a water-proofed GPS that floats on the surface and is
towed with the unit by a cable. This method has been successfully used
by the California Department of Fish and Game to geoposition an ROV in
order to survey marine life in the kelp forests off Fort Bragg. (Veisze,
Karpov 2002) Realizing that for many teams, a loose fin strap or extra
cutting device can create major fears of entanglement, there is another
method that can be used for plotting the search path. A diver can keep
the GPS contained on a line management system, and release the cabled
device to the surface to record a position reading at pre-designated
intervals (i.e. number of fin kicks, or time intervals.) It is a
tedious, yet effective technique.
With a variety of mounting options, the user has flexibility in deciding
how the search would best be conducted. Pole mount allows topside to do
a search from boat or dock. Hull mounted units can use a boat to run
search patterns for wide areas, DPV mounted Navigator units would leave
even James Bond envious. “Q” has nothing over Shark Marine.
They have also made it so the unit can be quickly disconnected from the
DPV underwater and used by hand when necessary.
Hull searches can be conducted with use of the 90- degree mount with
either imaging sonar or scanning sonar. Target identification can be
done at safe distances and with a low magnetic signature version as an
option.
The Navigator can be effectively operated by first-time users after a
short shore briefing. In order for users to maximize proficiency in the
least amount of
time, Shark Marine offers a training program covering:
The participants
in the Lake Piru demonstration enjoyed getting out of the cold wind and
into the lake to try out the Navigator. All agreed that the Navigator
could increase diver safety for recovery operations. Los Angeles City
Lifeguard Trainer Dan Guevara stated, If we could get this, it would
really reduce dive time and manpower with proper training.
Los Angeles City Lifeguards (from left to right) Marco Rodriguez, Ruben
Carmona and Trainer Dan Guevara with the Navigator at Lake Piru.
LA City Cabrillo Beach guard Ruben Carmona added that it would be an aid
in avoiding underwater hazards and identify topography changes due to
dredging. Carmona was impressed with the unit, declaring it to be
lightweight, easy to move, practical in design, just point and shoot.
Guard Marco Rodriguez also was impressed by the Navigator, It was great.
What you can do with it is amazing. It can really shorten your period of
the search. He made the analogy that it was like night vision
underwater.
Dive Trainer Dan Guevara enters the water easily with the lightweight,
highly manageable Navigator
The Navigator is another tool for today’s public safety dive teams. It
has the versatility to be used as a diver-held system, mounted to a
platform such as a boat hull, or parted out for the accessories to be
used on a pole mount for a topside survey of the search area. For more
information on the Shark Marine Technologies, Navigator, visit their
website www.sharkmarine.com.
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