Russian navigation system: 'iPhone' underwater

Tour divers, industrial divers, search workers, underwater vehicles: all need navigation systems to navigate.

The development of UC & NL Underwater Navigation and Communication Laboratory , according to the company director, sets new standards in the industry, just like the iPhone in the world of smartphones. And will soon appear in Spain.

Unlike conventional, underwater navigation is extremely difficult, because radio waves do not generally spread underwater and global positioning systems such as GPS and GLONASS do not work there.

However, the demand for underwater navigation systems is much higher than on the ground. Common sight for all types of underwater activities, including construction or repair, can only be seen within about one meter, Arthur Ablentsev - UC & NL general manager, said in an interview with Sputnik. Mundo.

'The diver raised his hand and barely saw his fingertips. Of course, under these conditions, he could find something, but even if he did, it was necessary to know where he was to call colleagues and bring specialized equipment there, which seemed to like very, very difficult without the right equipment. The very close relationship with consumers allows us to literally improve our products each month, "the company CEO said.

UC & NL - Underwater wireless digital navigation and communication enterprise established in 2015. But 2015 technology, according to Abelentsev, is significantly different from the products that The company is producing.

At the same time, it was the RedWave navigation system developed by UC & NL that took into account the experience of Soviet scientists.

To navigate underwater, they use sonar to transmit sound in water. The task of communication and underwater navigation has long been resolved, but UC & NL has solved this problem in the most modern way.

'Competitors use solutions from 30 to 35 years ago, making devices very reliable. But we, as a new company, can get completely new features in the field of energy, communication range, working time, sound quality, because we use signal processing. by digital " - Abelentsev explained.

"Before that, the iPhone set the standard that all phone manufacturers followed. We also created our 'iPhone,' to communicate and navigate underwater," he added.

Picture 1 of Russian navigation system: 'iPhone' underwater
Preparing to test navigation system Red Wave in the United States.

The company's products are used in two main areas:

  1. Underwater research and trade (pipe inspection, construction, underwater archeology).
  2. Data transmission network (gathering information from underwater sensors, monitoring the environment).

During 5 years of existence, UC & NL has entered the international market. Norway became the first foreign customer, although it itself had such leading equipment manufacturers in the world.

"The Norwegians turned to us because of the overall size and price, there is no better one in the world. (.) We have created the smallest sonar modem in the world," - Abelentsev said.

In addition to an attractive price, one to two times lower than that of foreign competitors, and the lightweight transceiver devices that a diver can bring on his own, UC & NL products can work within Difficult conditions in shallow water, very bad environment for the operation of sonar.

"The hydroelectric systems work well in the deep ocean. But now there's a lot of work being done at depths below 30 meters. And there are very few combinations that can work at such depths." .

In addition, the company products provide high signal reliability.

"Few companies in the world can provide such reliability," Abelentsev said.

At the same time, the devices are easy to use and do not require complex calibration.

All of these characteristics allow the company to gain a serious advantage over its competitors.

In addition to Norway, the company has experience with customers from the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. UC & NL is currently starting to work with Spanish company OCEAN NET SL, based in Alicante, in the field of divers' phones.