The Underwater Inspection of Bridge Substructures Using Imaging Technology report by the U.S. Federal Highways Administration (FHWA), rated the Echoscope^®:

• Most Accurate
• Highest Resolution
• The Lowest Post-Processing Time
• Best at Vertical Surface Imaging.
• "Designed to function as a non-expert oriented system" where data is easy to access and easy to interpret.

Coda Octopus real-time 3D volumetric imaging sonar solutions, based on our Echoscope technology, have been integral in reducing the danger involved in traditional visual inspections and the costly survey time of necessary routine bridge inspections. The Echoscope is the world’s only real-time 3D volumetric sonar, capable of visualizing results instantly to allow operators to make real-time decisions to inform if further inspection is required or if damage needs to be repaired. It has been utilized for subsea bridge inspection for a number of years, saving state highway authorities’ valuable time and resources on costly inspections of varying depths, criteria, and visibility conditions, including bridge inspections in and around New York City’s critical infrastructure.

By using a rapidly deployable real-time 3D sonar, bridge inspectors can save time and cost, identifying large structural faults and scour before divers enter the water, eliminating downtime associated with unexpected conditions and safely guiding dive teams to their targets.

“Designed to function as a non-expert oriented system” where data is easy to access and easy to interpret.”

Using Echoscope real-time 3D volumetric sonar technology you can deliver precise, intuitive, and instantaneous 3D images, producing detailed GPS referenced underwater scans in real-time. With little training, even operators without a background in hydrography can undertake rapid inspections of harbor walls, bulkheads, piers, bridges, pilings and ship hulls.

For deeper bridges and pylons, our dual axis rotator, the Integrated Pan and Tilt (IPT), provides the ability to look at both the highest and lowest points of a bridge pylon without manual adjustment. The IPT is a high-performance unit designed to meet the demanding requirements of accurate orientation and position control of the real-time 3D Coda Octopus sonar product. Requiring no additional software, the IPT operates as an integrated solution within the CodaOctopus® Underwater Survey Explorer (USE), and eliminates the need for multiple patch testing during mapping and inspection tasks.

“The Lowest Post-Processing Time"

USE captures all software features for optimizing the visualization of Echoscope 3D data with options for live tagging and full editing of important snippets of data, known as markers, beam-by-beam editing, a number of digital terrain model (DTM) output methods, and a Volumetric Rendering engine that enables data to be rendered as a high resolution textured model. USE also contains several beneficial charting capabilities including the ability to display ENC files that provide the pilot with an instantaneous view of the area surveyed and importing pre-lay survey lines to be visualized in real time. Chart View will also show the total area already covered in the survey, reducing survey time from overlap and ensuring complete coverage of the survey area. If required, USE also supports simultaneous export to all of your familiar 3rd party navigation systems. USE can export your survey data in the common XYZ point cloud format, and the even easier to use Google Earth KML file for quick presentations of the data with real-world context.

“Most Accurate”

Providing an all-in-one solution to our customers' bridge inspection needs, the Echoscope is complemented by our F180^® series range of GPS aided attitude and positioning systems that provide certified survey-grade reference data in support of your project. Blending together GNSS information with an inertial engine, the F180 series outputs Kalman filtered heading, position, heave, pitch, and roll variables even in the most demanding of offshore conditions.

Designed with ease of use in mind, the 3D Connect is a simple plug and play platform for the total integration of the entire Echoscope real-time 3D volumetric sonar range. The 3D Connect provided users with a single connection point for our sonars, single and dual axis rotators, above water camera, and GPS and Motion sensors, all of which is output to the topside computer via a single Ethernet cable. For the highest accuracy requirements, the 3D Connect also natively accepts RTK corrections to 2 cm level. This streamlined solution allows users to further simplify the deployment of the Echoscope range of 3D sonars, increasing efficiency by saving operators time with an intuitive and compact solution.