SYNAPS (Synthetic Aperture Positioning System) - Under development
- Overview
- Features
- Product Sheet
SYNAPS positioning software is used in conjunction with Lotek MAP 600 RT and LHP hydrophones.
SYNAPS (synthetic aperture positioning system) extends hydrophone array positioning to mobile surface vessel based tracking studies by combining detection records collected from one or two moving hydrophones with GPS-referenced positions of the tow boat. 3D positioning is supported with the use of depth sensing transmitters.
SYNAPS is a post-processing Windows-based utility (SynapsWin™) that computes estimates of transmitter locations from MAP detection files clock-synchronized to shipboard GPS records. By modeling the physical behavior of the hydrophone tow body, SYNAPS translates GPS boat positions into hydrophone location estimates for each detection record. The assignment of a geographic position to each detection record creates a virtual or synthetic hydrophone array whose spatial geometry defines its aperture. Through the software, the synthetic aperture array is equivalent to a fixed array of hydrophones stationed at the GPS-referenced positions associated with the individual signal detections. The software is then able to generate a specific location estimate of each detected fish transmitter.
- Mobile positioning of tagged animals increases the efficiency of tracking by orders of magnitude over conventional time based acoustic systems that require boat motor shut down to achieve practical detection range.
- Large geographic areas such as marine protected areas can be efficiently surveyed for animal presence and estimated position.
- Tagged animal positions can be computed during post processing rather than tracking down animal positions with boats and potentially disturbing natural behavior.
