Fanbeam® Laser Radar

Product number: 1000

Single or Multiple Target Positioning and Tracking System for Dynamically Positioned Work Vessels, Exploration Ships, and Offshore Construction Operations/ Support Vessels

Fanbeam

  • Class 1 laser system
  • Range to 2,000m with ± 10cm accuracy
  • Rugged design ideal for the offshore environment
  • Excellent primary or backup system
  • Autotilt mechanism compensates for large vessel differences in height
  • Utilises inexpensive intrinsically safe retro reflectors
  • Competitively priced
  • Quick and easy to install

MDL's Fanbeam® is a laser range and angle system designed for repetitive, high accuracy positioning and tracking of marine vessels, and static and semi-static anchored structures.

The system is primarily used to control or assist automatic dynamic positioning (DP) of a vessel next to a platform, jetty or other vessel. Fanbeam® can be employed as either a standalone collision avoidance monitoring system or as a local backup system for position control of ship/ barge docking and manoeuvring. The system is also widely used to position towed seismic vessel gun array floats during geophysical survey operations.

The System

The basic system consists of a Laser-Scanning Head, an Autotilting Yoke and a Universal Control Unit with embedded control software.

Autotilt Mechanism

An autotilt mechanism incorporated into the yoke of the Fanbeam® allows the laser scanning head to be adjusted by +/-15° giving a total beam range of -24° to +24°. This allows remote adjustment of the scanning head when large height differences occur between a vessel and a rig or two vessels in different states of ballast.

Universal Control Unit (UCU)

UCU

The UCU is an industrial quality PC unit designed specifically for Marine Fanbeam® operations. The embedded control software is used to set up and auto track all targets in view. The rugged UCU features a backlit keypad for night operations.

The Fanbeam® is now in regular use on board FPSO's, drill rigs and ships, survey vessels, shuttle tankers, pipe and cablelay barges, repair vessels, stone dumpers and dredgers world-wide.

Software Options

Fanbeam® UCU is supplied with proprietary MDL embedded software for single target DP or multiple target DP operation. In addition to a large range of configurable data output formats, both software products can be defined by the user to optimise the systems performance according to the vessels current environment. The basic software displays range and bearing information and the multiple target software computes relative heading of the vessel from information received from multiple targets.

fanbeam screen 1 fanbeam screen 2

Alternatively, MDL can supply proprietary embedded ‘Seismic Software’. The software has been designed to enable Fanbeam® to continuously track up to twenty towed targets, add and modify target windows on-line and calculate the separations between any pair of targets in real-time. Improved graphics all packaged within user-friendly Windows® environment makes MDL’s Seismic Software a valuable tool for tracking towed marine targets such as gun arrays or mine sweeping ‘dyad’ tows.

Rentals

MDL maintain a comprehensive pool of rental Fanbeam® systems in both Aberdeen and Houston. Up to date systems and accessories are available for hire with current calibration certification.

MDL operate service centres for Fanbeam® in both Aberdeen and Houston with a presence in Singapore also.

fanbeam screen 2 fanbeam Fanbeam Rental Kit

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