FarSounder, Inc., the world leader in 3D forward looking sonar technology, announced that it has been awarded a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for work to develop a long range/high speed navigation and obstacle avoidance sonar.

In order to improve the efficiency and safety of marine cargo transport, FarSounder plans to develop a forward looking navigation and collision avoidance sonar system, providing real-time 3-dimensional location (bearing, range, depth) of obstacles at distances up to 3.2km (2 miles) for vessels traveling at up to 65 km/hr (35 knots). This project opens up new possibilities in marine navigation by addressing the economic, safety and environmental problems associated with large vessel operations...

...This 2.75 year, $2M project will develop a sonar system capable of detecting obstacles at a distance sufficient for large and/or high speed vessels to effectively navigate to avoid obstacles. There is no other technology capable of providing navigation and obstacle avoidance information out to these significant distances and speeds. There are none that are even capable of competing with FarSounder's existing short range, low speed products.