Many different types of systems are utilized and tasks are performed in a marine environment. The present invention provides various configurations of castable devices that can be operated and/or controlled for such systems or tasks. One or more castable devices can be integrated with a transducer assembly, such as a phased array, that emits sonar beams and receives sonar returns from the underwater environment. Processing circuitry may receive the sonar returns, process the sonar returns, generate an image, and transmit the image to a display.

Sonar devices for detecting underwater objects are provided whereby a set of angled ultrasound transducers are employed to sense ultrasound signals from a plurality of different spatial regions. The angled ultrasound transducers may include a first pair of side-viewing ultrasound transducers and a second pair of ultrasound transducers configured for interrogating forward and reverse directions. The ultrasound signals from the set of angled ultrasound transducers may be processed to identify the presence of underwater objects in each spatial region, and the resulting identified underwater objects may be displayed, on a per-region basis, on a user interface. The ultrasound signals may additionally or alternatively be processed to generate a topographical model of the bed surface, and to generate a topographical surface image based on the three-dimensional topographical model. The topographical surface image may be displayed as a fly-over animation.

A sonar system includes a sonar transducer having a plurality of transducer elements and a transceiver. The transceiver generates transducer drive signals and receives transducer echo signals. The system includes control circuitry, which, in operation, selectively couples transducer elements of the plurality of transducer elements to the transceiver. In a side scan mode of operation, the plurality of transducer elements are coupled to the transceiver, and in a forward scan mode of operation a subset of the plurality of transducer elements is coupled to the transceiver.

An apparatus, method, and computer-readable medium for high ping rate depth sounding. The apparatus may cause transmission of a first sonar beam having a first frequency and transmission of a second sonar beam having a second frequency with a transducer assembly. The transducer assembly maybe configured to transmit the first sonar beam and the second sonar beam into the underwater environment. The apparatus may receive sonar return data from the transducer assembly beginning either simultaneously with transmission of the first sonar beam or prior to transmission of the second sonar beam. The apparatus may further determine, based on sonar return data acquired after transmission of both the first sonar beam and the second sonar beam, that the sonar return data corresponds to the first sonar beam by determining that the sonar return data comprises the first frequency.

An apparatus for artificial intelligence (AI) bathymetry is disclosed. The apparatus includes a sonic unit attached to a boat, the sonic unit configured to generate a plurality of metric data as a function of a plurality of ultrasonic pulses and a plurality of return pulses. An image processing module is configured to generate a bathymetric image as a function of the plurality of metric data, identify, as a function of the bathymetric image, an underwater landmark, and register the bathymetric image to a map location as a function of the underwater landmark. A communication module is configured to transmit the registered bathymetric image to at least a remote device. An autonomous navigation module is configured to determine a heading for the boat as a function of a path datum and command boat control to navigate the boat as a function of the heading.

An unmanned aerial system includes an unmanned aerial vehicle having a body and a primary propulsion system coupled to the body. The primary propulsion system includes at least one propeller and at least one motor coupled to the at least one propeller. The unmanned aerial system also includes a pair of landing gears coupled to the body of the unmanned aerial vehicle. Each landing gear of the pair of landing gears includes a buoyant elongated float. The unmanned aerial system also includes a SONAR device coupled to the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Techniques are disclosed for systems and methods to provide reliable and relatively quick bottom reacquisition in sonar systems for mobile structures, including three dimensional (3D) capable and/or multichannel sonar systems. A sonar system includes a sonar transducer and associated processing and control electronics and optionally orientation and/or position sensors disposed substantially within the housing of a sonar transducer assembly. A logic device of the sonar system is configured to detect bottom lock loss based, at least in part, on sonar data provided by the sonar transducer, determine an expected bottom depth associated with the detected bottom lock loss, and generate updated sonar data based, at least in part, on the expected bottom depth. Resulting sonar data and/or imagery may be displayed to a user and/or used to adjust a steering actuator, a propulsion system thrust, and/or other operational systems of the mobile structure.

Provided are a sonar system and transducer assembly for producing a 3D image of an underwater environment. The sonar system may include a housing mountable to a watercraft having a transmit transducer that may transmit sonar pulses into the water. The system may include at least one sidescan transducer array in the housing that receives first and second sonar returns with first and second transducer elements and converts the first and second returns into first and second sonar return data. A sonar signal processor may then generate a 3D mesh data using the first and second sonar return data and at least a predetermined distance between the transducer elements. An associated method of using the sonar system is also provided.

A sonar system and method enable performing angled-looking sonar (ALS) by emitting sonar waves in a forward and downward direction from sonar transducers located at an underwater vessel. The sonar waves may be received by sonar transducers located al the underwater vessel. Additionally, a variable geometry sonar system and method enable performing side scan sonar (SSS) and ALS by moving al least one sonar transducer to perform both SSS and ALS. The variable geometry sonar system may be used with an underwater vessel to perform mine countermeasure (MCM) missions by using ALS for a homing phase on a target.

The invention generally relates to sonar devices that integrate forward-looking sensors with down-looking echosounders, side scanning sonar, or both. The invention provides a sonar system that includes a forward-looking sonar device that operates in an integrated fashion with one or more other sonar devices so that a boater can have a reliable navigation tool while also using sonar for finding fish and other features on the seafloor. The forward-looking sonar can include a transducer array that takes a three-dimensional acoustic reading of the objects and seafloor ahead. The electronics that process the acoustic data can also process data from down-looking sonar, side-scanning sonar, or both and can integrate the information to present an expansive display in the boat, revealing the contents and the floor of the sea in front of, around, and under the boat.