Tachyon Sensors Overview
In order to complete its mission, Tachyon uses a wide array of sensors for vehicle control and environmental sensing, including a Dopper Velocty Log, a compass, a depth sensor, an IMU, and two cameras.
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The hydrophones are a passive acoustic system that uses four Reson TC4013 elements and an Analog Devices SHARC-21369 to determine the relative direction to an underwater pinger. They are capable of discriminating between multiple pingers of different frequencies operating simultaneously and listening to only the one at the selected frequency. They can operate in the 20-35 kHz range. More information on Tachyon's hydrophones.
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Doppler Velocity Log
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An RDI Workhorse Navigator DVL gives position and enables closed-loop velocity control. |
Depth Sensor
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Analog pressure data (up to 100 PSI, or approximately 55 meters below the surface) is obtained from an MSI UltraStable-300 pressure transducer, operating in a 4-20 mA current loop. Depth Sensor Board datasheet |
Cameras
Tachyon uses two cameras, one forward facing and one downward facing.
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Forward: An AVT Guppy F-080C Color CCD Camera is used for the vehicle's forward vision. |
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Downward: An An AVT Guppy F-046 Color CCD Camera is used for the vehicle's downward vision. |
Orientation Sensor
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A Microstrain 3DM-GX1 Orientation Sensor provides the vehicle's heading, pitch, roll and velocity rates in 3D space. This data is used in the Kalman filter of the controller to allow for better sensor fusion and faster control response |
OceanServer Compass
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An OceanServer compass provides heading, pitch and roll data. |
