direct baselines

Direct baselines enable underwater acoustic transponders to measure distances directly between seafloor nodes, bypassing surface vessels to accelerate subsea positioning.

In deepwater operations, traditional acoustic positioning relies on surface vessels to ping and calibrate seafloor arrays, a process vulnerable to weather delays and high ship-charter costs. Direct baseline technology changes this dynamic by enabling intelligent transponders, such as Sonardyne's Compatt series, to measure distances directly between one another on the seabed. By utilizing acoustic telemetry to calculate these baseline vectors locally, operators can calibrate complex subsea networks in a fraction of the time, achieving centimeter-level positioning accuracy for critical offshore construction and geodetic monitoring.

https://www.sonardyne.com