Skip to main content
Ocean Networks Canada

Ocean Networks Canada

Search form

Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn iconYouTube iconFlickr iconInstagram icon

Menu

  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Jobs & Opportunities
    • Events & Workshops
    • Contact Us
    • Support Us
    • Annual Report 2019-2020
    • Organization
      • Leadership
      • Staff
      • Boards
      • Committees
    • Funders, Associate Members & Partners
      • Funders
      • Associate Members
      • Partners
  • Science
    • Science
    • Active Research
    • Highlights
    • Science Plan
      • Summary
      • Science Themes
    • Publications
      • General Interest
      • Academic
    • Getting Involved
      • Proposals
  • Innovation Centre
    • Innovation Centre
    • About the Innovation Centre
    • Success Stories
    • Contact Us
    • Smart Ocean™ Systems
      • Sensors and Instruments
      • Technology Demos
      • Ocean Observing Systems
      • Earthquake Early Warning
    • Partners & Networks
      • Industry Network
      • Global Partnerships
      • R&D Support
      • Students in Industry
    • Atlantic Partners
  • Learning
    • Learning
    • Learning Highlights
    • Learning Events
    • Partnerships
    • Contact Us
    • Ocean Sense
      • Community Observatories
        • Cambridge Bay
        • Campbell River
        • Kitamaat Village
        • Prince Rupert
      • Teacher Info
      • Student Info
      • Resources & Lessons
    • Get Involved
      • For Students
        • For Undergrads & Grads
      • For Educators
        • Educator Opportunities
      • For Communities
      • Ship2Shore
      • Citizen Science
        • Coastbuster
        • Digital Fishers
      • Youth Science Ambassador
    • Resources
      • Learning at Home
      • Educator Resources
      • Ocean Alive!
      • Oceanography 101
      • About the Observatories
      • Research Ideas
      • Student Reports
  • Observatories
    • Observatories
    • Arctic
    • Atlantic
    • Pacific
    • Mobile Platforms
    • Infrastructure
      • Data Facilities
      • Platforms
      • Devices & Sensors
      • Cables & Connectors
    • Expeditions
      • Wiring the Abyss
      • Expedition Logs
      • Maintenance Processes
    • Notices
      • Information for Mariners
      • Alerts and System Status
  • Data & Tools
    • Data & Tools
    • Highlights
    • Data Quality
    • Preview & Download
      • Preview & Visualize
      • Data Download Tools
      • State of the Ocean Plots
      • Ocean Report Card
    • Apps & Services
      • Mobile Apps
      • OPeNDAP Web Services
      • Related Sources
      • Earthquake Data Dashboard
    • Data Help
      • Usage Policy
      • Tutorials & Help Pages
      • Request Help
  • Sights & Sounds
    • Sights & Sounds
    • Terms of Use
    • Video
      • Live Video
      • Video Highlights
      • Video Archives
    • Images
      • Maps
    • Audio
      • Audio Highlights
      • Audio Archive
  • News
    • News
    • Stories
    • Newsletters
    • Calendar
    • Media Relations
      • Backgrounders
      • Downloads
      • In the News
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts

About Us

You are here

  1. Home
May 28, 2015

Prototype Equipment Design takes ONC innovation from concept to reality

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) and Prototype Equipment Design (PED) recently collaborated to design and build the world’s first low frequency calibration system for digital and analog hydrophones. The calibration system was designed to calibrate the most sensitive low frequency hydrophones on the market, Canada's icListen LF smart hydrophones. These ultra sensitive acoustic sensors detect sounds that are below the range of existing calibration systems: earthquakes, underwater landslides, large baleen whales and the rapidly growing undersea shipping noise that can impact marine ecosystems and environments.

Founded in 2001, with beginnings in the University of Victoria’s Engineering Lab, PED is a full service machine shop based on Canada’s west coast that consistently meets the demanding needs of the military, aerospace, medical and scientific industries in providing customized equipment design and production.

Machine shop at Prototype Equipment Design, Victoria, British Columbia

“Our company specializes in unique solutions for very specific problems,” says Ray Brougham, PED’s founder and President. “When ONC presented a complicated challenge with tough design criteria, I felt our expertise would provide them with precision manufacturing, but also stringent quality control and the collaborative process they were looking for.”

  

 

ONC, a University of Victoria initiative, operates world-class cabled ocean observatories off the west coast of Canada and at Cambridge Bay in the Canadian Arctic. ONC’s Innovation Centre operates a Technology Demonstration Facility to help ocean instrumentation manufacturers develop, test and demonstrate new technologies used in the ocean. And they had a problem they wanted to solve for an industry partner with an exciting new acoustic technology.

Nova Scotia’s Ocean Sonics designs and manufactures the icListen series of hydrophones, the world’s first smart hydrophones used for ocean observation and environmental monitoring. While the icListen LF has remarkable low frequency performance, there was no way to accurately calibrate its sensitivity at frequencies from 20 hertz down to 20 millihertz, which reduced the effectiveness of the data.

The icListen LF hydrophone, ready for deployment at ONC’s Endeavour observatory site (June 2013)

ONC’s Innovation Centre team took up the challenge to devise a prototype for a very low frequency digital hydrophone calibration system. However they lacked the expertise and facilities required to develop and produce a sophisticated, laboratory grade calibration system that would pass provincial pressure vessel certification.

Choosing the right partner was crucial to success, according to Tom Dakin, head of Sensor Technologies at the Centre.

“PED has an excellent reputation for being able to design and fabricate complex one-of-a-kind systems for a variety of clients,” he said. “The wide range of precision fabrication and design experts at PED, their willingness to work through the design challenges and certifications required for system operation, made PED our preferred partner.”

Working through the complex calibration design with Kory Pollner, PED’s Quality Control Manager, from concept to fully fabricated system.

PED’s team embraced the new concept and designed a functional system while maintaining a close collaboration with ONC scientists and engineers. The process included several solid model iterations, design simulation, fabrication, testing and provincial boiler certification. PED was also instrumental in the production of the patent documentation, and working through challenges that arose as ONC staff began performing hydrophone calibrations at frequencies never before achieved.

ONC’s Tom Dakin with PED President, Ray Brougham and the world’s first calibration system for low frequency hydrophones.

Since completion, the calibration system has been used for twenty-eight very low frequency hydrophone calibrations. The instruments are being used by ONC’s observatories and a growing list of satisfied customers, including:

  • Natural Resources Canada
  • Cetacea Lab
  • Orca Lab
  • Saturna Island Marine Research Education Society (SIMRES)
  • Ocean Sonics in Nova Scotia
  • SAAB torpedo test range in Sweden

New enquiries to purchase calibration systems are also being received from around the world.

Before the year end, Dakin plans to have his team design a similar system that will appeal to hydrophone manufacturers and calibration facilities around the world; one that is less expensive, easier to operate and excels in calibrating production level hydrophones for ambient pressure and temperature.

He’s looking forward to future collaborations with PED and sums up the collaboration this way: “When it comes to prototyping and low volume, very specialized designs, PED represents precision manufacturing and design at its best.”

Related information:

  • Prototype Equipment Design: A Case Study
  • “Calibrating hydrophones at very low frequencies.” Tom Dakin, Nicolai Bailey, John Dorocicz, Jeff Bosma. International Conference & Exhibition on Underwater Acoustics (2014) 
 

hydrophones | calibration | Prototype Equipment Design | Innovation Centre

PED_Case_study
Hydrophone_Calibration_UA2014
Printer-friendly versionPDF version

Related Stories

Ocean Tech Alliance Canada: A National Voice for the Blue Economy
Sep 5, 2017

ONC’s Innovation Centre: Serving the global blue economy
Dec 7, 2015

New Online Learning Resource Listens to Orcas
Sep 23, 2014

Sharing Ocean Data
Aug 26, 2014

Forging Partnerships with China
Nov 26, 2013

China Trade Mission Showcases B.C. Ocean Technology
Sep 4, 2013

Ocean Acoustics
Aug 16, 2013

Calendar of Events

March 2021

  • « Prev  
  •   Next »
S M T W T F S
28
1
2
3
4
5
6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
 
Pacific Rim Whale Festival
»
 
 
 
 
 
 
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
«
Pacific Rim Whale Festival
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Newsletter

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter:

 

Tweets Follow @Ocean_Networks

 

 

Highlights

  • Audio
  • Data
  • Learning
  • Science
  • Video

Reading Room

  • Active Research
  • Backgrounders
  • FAQs
  • Glossary
  • News Briefs
  • News Stories
  • Newsletters
  • Publications

Cool Stuff

  • Apps
  • Digital Fishers
  • iBooks & e-Pubs
  • Live Video
  • Maps
  • Images
  • State of the Ocean

Data & Tools

  • Apps
  • Data Plots
  • Data Search
  • Data Policy
  • Data Help
  • OPeNDAP Web Services

Opportunities

  • Calendar
  • Educator Opportunities
  • Global Partnerships
  • Industry Network
  • Jobs
  • Staff List
  • Technology Services

Sites & Instruments

  • Arctic Sites
  • Northeast Pacific Sites
  • Salish Sea Sites
  • Notice to Mariners

Follow Us

Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn iconYouTube iconFlickr iconInstagram icon

Sign up for our newsletter

Feedback

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

                              

About Us | Contact Us | Media Relations | Legal Notices

©   Ocean Networks Canada. All rights reserved.  2474 Arbutus Road, Victoria, BC, V8N 1V8 | 1.250.472.5400