New Capabilities for Side Scan Sonar Systems

Recent new technical developments have greatly improved the versatility and image quality of commercial side scan sonar systems. A new Very High Resolution side scan system has five times the resolution of previous systems. Advanced digital and analog techniques are now used to correct and improve the sonar presentation. A sophisticated phase-lock servo system allows sonar data to be stored on digital or analog magnetic tape and replayed on an electro-mechanical graphic recorder. Sonar signals may be digitized and stored and then played back with delay and expansion. This provides an electronic "zoom lens" which allows detailed inspection of sonar targets. A microprocessor based system called K-MAPS
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removes the basic distortions from the side scan record to produce a true scale image. Several images may then be laid side by side to produce a sonar mosaic similar to an aerial photograph. A new Alphanumeric Record Annotator allows for automatic annotation of time, date, events, navigation data and other parameters directly on the sonar chart.