BlueRobotics Ping2 Sonar Altimeter and Echosounder

• BlueRobotics Ping2 Sonar Altimeter and Echosounder
• Underwater distances: up to 100 m (328 ft)
• Feaures a multipurpose single-beam echosounder
• Provides a powerful tool for marine robotics
• Open-source software interface
• Can be used as an altimeter for ROVs and AUVs
• Supply Voltage: 4.5 - 5.5 V

The BlueRobotics Ping2 Sonar Altimeter and Echosounder is a single-beam echosounder that measures distances up to 100 meters (328 feet) underwater. A 25-degree beam width, 300-meter (984-foot) depth rating and an open-source software interface make it a powerful tool for marine robotics.

The Ping sonar is a multipurpose single-beam echosounder. It can be used as an altimeter for ROVs and AUVs, for bathymetry work aboard a USV, as an obstacle avoidance sonar, and for other underwater distance measurement applications. Ping2 combines a compact form factor and 300-meter depth rating with an open-source user interface and Arduino, C++, and Python development libraries to create a powerful new tool for marine robotics!

An echosounder, like the Ping, is one of the simplest forms of underwater sonar. It operates by using a piezoelectric transducer to send an ultrasonic acoustic pulse into the water and then listens back for echoes to return. With that information, it’s able to determine the distance to the strongest echo, which is usually the ocean floor or a large object. It can also provide the full echo response (echo strength versus time) which can be plotted like the display of a fishfinder sonar.

The Ping uses a 115 kHz transducer frequency, away from those used on most boat echo sounders to avoid interference. It has a measurement range of 100 meters (328 feet) and a measurement beamwidth of 25 degrees, perfect for applications on a rocking boat or for obstacle avoidance. An advanced bottom-tracking algorithm runs on the device to determine the distance to the seafloor, even in complicated situations with multiple echoes.