Oceanic Imaging Consultants (Honolulu, USA) has just completed sea-trials on GeoDAS-SDV -- new navigation, mapping and obstacle avoidance system, tailor-made for swimmer delivery vehicles. GeoDAS-SDV uses a waterproof GPS to acquire initial position fixes at the surface, and then updates navigation data once the vehicle is at depth by using information from an integrated Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) and compass.

For mapping, GeoDAS-SDV can be equipped with single or dual-frequency sidescan, while for obstacle avoidance, a forward-looking sector-scan sonar is incorporated. Users view the data on twin SVGA screens, and interact with the system via a custom-built pair of 6-button touch-pads, allowing control of range, gain, display mode and zoom. Hardware options include user-selection of sidescan and forward-look sonars. Software options include ROVer's Eye for 3-D real-time visualization in the survey, real-time mosaicking of sidescan or forward look data, and display of survey track or mosaic over electronic nautical charts (DNC, S-57, BSB, Transas, etc.).