Unique Group presents Alidade Hydrographic's reliable, autonomous underway profiling system, made with robust, easily available, off-the-shelf parts.

Built in response to demand for a field-serviceable and field-reparable product, this underway profiling system is made in Australia, consists of off-the-shelf industrial automation components, widely available connectors and cables and utilises an Australian-made free-fall winch.

Alidade Hydrographic’s underway profiler can be fitted with sound velocity, turbidity, dissolved gas and other water column sensors. It can also be used to assist with seabed sampling as the powerful bundled winch can support a mini-Pederson or petite Ponar grab.

The controller operates autonomously to conduct underway profiling in depths up to 100 metres. Profiling can be triggered manually, or automatically using time, depth, speed and surface sound velocity data sourced via Ethernet link to industry-standard acquisition software, including QINSy.

The system automatically computes cast trajectory and operates the winch to freewheel the sensor during the downcast and retrieve it when it reaches a preset safety altitude above the seabed.