Innovative Sea-Bottom 3D Imaging Technology

SeaSearcher

A Closer Look At

The Technology

SeaSearcher Marine Research Team is not just an exciting new technology platform developed for Seafarer Exploration but is an entire team of experienced engineers, technologists, analysts, and divers developing new and innovative equipment and techniques for identifying, isolating, and locating sea-bottom or sub-bottom artifacts.

The SeaSearcher Marine Research Team is currently actively testing the SeaSearcher platform on the Melbourne site using the Discovery as the command vessel.

While we are not able to disclose much about the SeaSearcher device itself at this time, we are able to say that it integrates new and existing technologies along with advanced signal processing and imaging. The SeaSearcher is an experimental platform that is focused on localizing objects of interest ranging from the sea-bottom to several meters below the bottom. The SeaSearcher system extends capabilities well beyond what is available today in the area of sub-bottom imaging. While sub-bottom imaging has existed for years to identify course strata and general layer density, the technology to perform high-resolution 3D imaging below the sea-bottom in real-time on an autonomous vehicle has not. The SeaSearcher flies like a ray manually or autonomous just a few feet off of the sea-bottom and uses an array of specialized sensors to develop a 3D image of what is on and below the sea-bottom including its likely composition attributes. These images are fed back to the command vessel and/or command center via a surface buoy and wireless link to be processed using proprietary Automatic Target Discrimination software which looks for the attributes of our targets of interest. Precise underwater GPS measurements allow each object to be located including latitude, longitude, and depth below the sea-bottom and is marked for re-visit by the Seafarer Discovery Team. It is also automatically registered and added to a database for future reference.

The Seafarer Discovery Team is comprised of vessels and divers and is tasked with taking the points of interest developed by the SeaSearcher Marine Research Team and refining them using the multiple methods approved by the governing body for discovery. This team is trained by staff archeologists on how to properly investigate, identify, document and preserve the integrity of identified items during the exploration process. Employing advanced technologies and processes to locate and mark items of interest, the chain of provenance is paramount. The Seafarer Discovery team operates from the Discovery platform.

These two teams are changing the way Seafarer Exploration works and manages sites of historical significance, and we believe will change the way the industry as a whole will operate in the future.

Features

  • Manual and Autonomous Controlling
  • Specialized Sensors
  • Sub-bottom Imaging
  • High Resolution 3D Imaging
  • Automatic Target Discrimination
  • Precise Underwater GPS

Current Status

The SeaSearcher 2’s metal discriminator integration testing is complete and our teams continue to expand our knowledge about the Melbourne Beach site while also preparing to return to Juno Beach.