'Sihawk' Aircraft for Underwater Surveying, First Developed Domestically... Demonstration Research by 2022

Demonstration Event on the 18th at Anmyeondo, West Sea

3D seabed topography data near Samcheok Beach, Gangwon, finally acquired through SeaHawk.

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 17th that it will hold a demonstration of the airborne bathymetric survey equipment, which can measure underwater depths and generate three-dimensional terrain data using aircraft, for the first time in Korea on the 18th at Anmyeondo, West Sea.

The name of this airborne bathymetric survey equipment is 'SiHawk (Mulsuri)', named after the osprey that flies over rivers, lakes, and coastlines to catch prey, reflecting its characteristic of accurately targeting objectives in a short time.

Airborne bathymetric surveying is a method that emits two lasers with different wavelengths from an aircraft and calculates depth by using the time difference of the lasers reflected from the water surface and seabed. It is mainly used for coastline surveys and nautical chart production.

Until now, there was no domestically produced airborne bathymetric survey equipment, so high costs were incurred to rent equipment from overseas. In response, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been promoting the development of airborne bathymetric survey technology since 2014 in collaboration with domestic and international universities, research institutes, and companies in related fields. After five years of research, they achieved the localization of airborne bathymetric survey equipment.

SiHawk is equipped with a laser transmitter applying new optical elements, maintaining the resolution level of existing data (2x2m), while being 25% lighter (287kg → 211kg) than the foreign equipment (CZMIL) that was previously rented. Its volume is 40% smaller (0.834㎥ → 0.473㎥), making it suitable for use on relatively small aircraft.

Additionally, while existing foreign equipment required data to be checked on the ground, SiHawk allows real-time confirmation of survey results within the aircraft, enabling immediate judgment and response to any measurement errors during flight surveys.

To verify SiHawk’s system performance, the research team conducted pilot operations of the equipment at domestic coasts including Baekado in the West Sea, Anmyeondo in Chungnam, Mukho Port in Gangwon, and Seongsan in Jeju last year, confirming operational stability. The hardware system was certified by the Korea Testing Laboratory, and it passed the survey performance review conducted by the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Association.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to carry out demonstration research to apply SiHawk to field surveys such as coastline and coastal erosion investigations by 2022 and develop a commercial model. Through this, they aim to establish a coastal management system using domestic technology and lay the groundwork for global expansion of related industries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.