Diver held sonar and guidance system is not only a
valuable piece of the SeaSAR system but a very
powerful stand alone tool for divers as well. The
Navigator was designed to; give a diver "eyes" in waters
too turbid to see; for locating distant objects or targets;
for mapping the route to easily relocate them.
The navigator processor unit is in actuality an
underwater Windows© based computer platform,
capable of working with various sonar heads and a
variety of other submersible sensors and capture
devices. The processor unit is usually sold as a system
with a particular sonar head attached. The most popular
sonar heads used are the Blueview series of multibeam
units including the P450 (long range sensing) the P900
(shorter range by higher definition image) and the
P900/2250 (shorter range and extra-high definition
image).
A wide range of peripherals are readily available for the
Navigator including such items as the SDM-4000
Magnetometer or Gradiometer, radiation detector, video
or still cameras, waterproof GPS, Long Bas Line and
DVL tracking systems.
A wide range of other computer based sensors can all
be easily adapted. All of the data recorded by these
devices including the sonars, is stored to the processors
internal hard drive and may be efficiently up loadable
either wirelessly or through wet-mateable USB ports to a
regular computer or a SeaSAR controller. Unlike other
diver held units, the Navigator includes a front panel,
daylight viewable display for diver operation. Video and
Ethernet extensions are available should the sonar data
need to be viewed by observers on the topside, or
shared with fellow divers down below. For use in
extremely poor visibility waters an Underwater Head
Mounted Display (UHMD) may be attached.
