SonarMite v3.0 (c)2009 Lymtech LLC
Page 3
6/13/2009
INTRODUCTION
The SonarMite Echo Sounder is the result of nearly two years research and
development to further extend the boundaries of shallow water hydrographic
surveying equipment. The introduction by Ohmex in 1997 of the SonarLite, the
worlds first truly portable echo sounder system, has been a hard act to follow and it
remains the portable instrument of choice in many survey companies around the
world. The release of the SonarMite instrument marks the next stage introducing a
series of equipment designed around the WinSTRUMENT concept using the latest
portable computers integrated with new measurement technologies.
Throughout the Hydrographic world the term 'Black Box' has become a euphemism
for a device that has a minimal user interface and normally requires connection to a
PC to be of any use ! In most cases these boxes are a cut down version of a more
conventional instrument without all the features of the full system. The SonarMite
extends this idea of a rugged design and minimalist interface to produce a 'Blue Box'
system where the user interface is provided by integrated software running on a
portable computer connected via a Bluetooth link. The use of wireless technology
enables the instrument to be waterproof and used in a hostile environment while the
more sensitive computer features can be located in a more user friendly environment
up to 50m away from the instrument.
The SonarMite instrument uses the same 'Smart' integrated transducer technology
used in the SonarLite system, in addition to highly reliable bottom tracking algorithms
using DSP techniques the system also outputs a quality value associated with every
depth measurement made. The popular SonarVista software has been updated to
SonarVista, in addition to the standard post-processing and editing features found in
the SonarMite software the program now includes extended features to implement the
additional measurements produced by the SonarMite. Software for the 'front end' of
the SonarMite is available to run on a wide range of devices from Pocket PCs through
to the full range of desktop systems running the Windows operating system. In the
event the user already has data acquisition software the SonarMite can be used as a
simple „dumb‟ echo sounder that can be configured in wide variety of formats.
