About Sonoptix ECHO Multibeam Imaging Sonar 2D range performance near surface and technical test report

Third Party Products Sonar and Acoustics
1

Hello,

I have already placed an order for the Sonoptix ECHO Multibeam Imaging Sonar 2D and am currently waiting for delivery. I have a couple of questions:

  1. What is the maximum detection range when the sonar is operating close to the water surface? Will it experience a reduced field of view similar to how a LiDAR loses coverage when scanning towards the ground at a steep angle? For example, if the sonar is placed at a depth of about 5–10 meters or smaller, how far can it effectively scan?

  2. Is it possible to obtain a stamped technical test report (covering performance specifications) for the exact same series number as the unit I am purchasing?

Thank you in advance for your help.

2

Hi @HudsonLe,

I’m not really sure what you’re asking here - do you have particular phenomena in mind that you’re concerned about? Near the surface the top of the beam gets reflected back down into the water (which reduces the vertical view angle at distance, and may cause some noise in the readings if the surface is wavy), but the rest of the beam is unobstructed and should be able to continue forwards / downwards to things that are actually in the water.

If it’s relevant the Sonoptix gallery includes multiple examples of operation at or less deep than the range you specified.

That question seems best directed to Sonoptix, as the device manufacturer.

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Thanks for your reply.

To clarify my concern: when operating close to the water surface, I’m worried that the sonar might not be able to detect objects that are at the same distance it could detect if it were deployed deeper. In other words, does being near the surface reduce the maximum forward detection range for targets at the same depth or distance?

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That part is clear, but I’m wondering why that is something you’re thinking and concerned about.

I don’t have extensive experience with multibeam sonar, so it’s possible there are unique considerations involved that I’m not recognising, but the analogy I’m considering is:

If you take a photo in a very long room, the ceiling does not prevent the light from other parts of the room reaching your camera, right? Accordingly,

  1. a camera can see just as far forwards with or without a ceiling above it, but
  2. the ceiling does prevent seeing up by as much (i.e. the vertical field of view is effectively reduced), and
  3. lights in the ceiling may be bright enough that they add some noise to other parts of the image by reflections in the optics (which is like the sound pulses reflecting partially back towards the transducer from waves in the water surface).
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