Capability PresentationCapability Presentation

Enhanced Diver Communications

Lindsay MacDonald

Senior Manager of Engineering

& Technology

Overview

• Proserv Nautronix diver communication experience

• Brief overview of existing diver communication systems

in the Market

• Identify where improvements can be made

• Proserv Nautronix NASDive overview

• NASDive Diver Communication System schedule

• New features and enhancements

• Questions and discussion

Diver Comms Market: Proserv Nautronix History

33XX wired series 33XX Through Water series

35XX wired series

NASDive wired

1985

1998

2014

35XX Through Water series

NASDive Through Water

Communications

Diver Communications - Market

• Number of new developments in diver communications in past ten years, although

Proserv Nautronix have made minor developmental changes

• Emerging competing systems use the same infrastructure (and algorithms) and

design philosophy of systems designed 10 years ago, but with a new system

interface

• Same infrastructure and philosophy will result in similar capabilities (and limitations)

of previous generation systems

• Opportunity to utilise latest generation technology and more robust infrastructure to

produce a vastly superior communications system

Diver Communications - What Can We Do Better?

Area to address Reason

Audio qualityLow signal levels, analogue to surface.

Very susceptible to Interference

Multiple cores required in

umbilicalStandard 3 diver bell needs 9 STP

Though Water

Communications, 25kHz SSB

Dated designs, most basic through water methods. Interference

from DP acoustics

Telephone interface Variety of different telephone network interface requirements

Helium Speech Unscrambler Single unscrambler, limited flexibility

Headsets Limited options

Diver Communications - NASDive Benefits

Improvement Achieved by

Wired audio quality

Any Ethernet route e.g. fibre optic interface, Cat 5 Ethernet

or VDSL2 (For STP) for communications path

Ethernet digital audio to all points. Digitisation of speech at

bell, rather than at surface

Reduction in umbilical core

requirementOnly needs 1 STP, 1 fibre optic or 1 Cat 5 for bell

Though Water Communications

audio qualityDigitally processed radio and new transducer design

Helium Speech Unscrambler

(HSU)Moved to software domain. All divers have their own HSU

User interfaceInterface fully touch screen. Secondary smaller touch

screen, or portable touch screen (iPad etc) optional

Headsets optionsNew headset interface, resulting in unlimited options, wired

or wireless

System Components: DCU

• Interface in Saturation and Dive Control

• Physical switches replaced with touchscreen

• Flexible number of stations and buses per screen

• Remote access from other touchscreen or portable device

• Multi-page option

– Unlimited channels on a single screen

– Flexible labelling for station/diver etc.

• Master - slave capability

– Ethernet

– NORSOK Compliance

• Wireless headsets

System components: Tender user interface

System Components: Tender Interface With Camera

Local Control Unit Interface (LCUi)

• Bell and lifeboat control

– Provides mini communications control unit

– Up to 4 users with local unscrambling

– Connects transparently to main control unit when available

– Automatic fall-over to local control when required (umbilical failure, lifeboat launch)

• Alphanumeric display

– Allows local configuration and control

– Displays fault messages (power fail, loss of

umbilical etc.)

– Displays text messages from tender either

through umbilical or through water

System Components: Communications Station

• Replacing analogue interfaces with Ethernet digital audio for communication stations

• Station upgrades

– Preamp for mic

– Power amp for speaker

– Some local control with diver, e.g. entertainment, volume

– Side tone for own voice, prevents feedback issues

• Ethernet to bell/chambers

– Using copper, fibre, or shared multiplexers

• Improved audio quality from digital interfaces

• Ethernet buses, so no analogue signal level

drop when sharing buses

System Components: Telephone Interface

• Effectively unlimited exchange lines*

• Direct dial to stations from vessel systems*

• Telephone can be assigned to bus (conference calls)

• Telephone can be assigned to station (private calls)*

– Station will be Helium unscrambled if required

– Call is protected from being cut off accidentally by bus reconfiguration

• VOIP interface*

– Vessel VOIP systems

– External VOIP calls

* Unique to Proserv

Emergency TWC System

• Software defined radio avoids need for tuning*

• Fully compatible with standard 25kHz Through Water

Communications

• Signalling is still 25kHz analogue SSB

• Manual/auto squelch on receiver to stop ‘hiss’

• Digital notch filters for noise reduction (e.g. HiPAP)

• Extensive diagnostic access over Ethernet to

commission/test

• Transducer replacement to improve quality and range

* Unique to Proserv

Standards and Qualifications

• NORSOK Diving Standards

– U100 - Manned Underwater Operations

• IMCA Standards

– D045, R015 - Code of Practise for the Safe Use of Electricity Underwater

• DNV Standards

– DNV-OS-D202 - Automation, Safety and Telecommunication Systems

– DNV-OS-E402 - Offshore Standard for Diving Systems

• British Standards

– BS EN 14931: 2006 - Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy

Vessel Specific - Legacy Systems

• No umbilical changes

– VDSL2 communications, works over single STP, second STP used for redundancy

• Subsea electronics:

– Enabling the use of single STP for all bell communications

– Digitisation of the speech within the bell, increasing clarity of speech

– Internal or external Electronics Bottle

• Interface to any Through Water Communications

Summary of Development and Build Schedule

April 2012Review of existing

systems and

market evaluation

May 2012Define system

specification

June 2012Prototype

components

designed

September 2012Engineering testing

and client review

December 2012Hyperbaric testing

of bell/chamber

electronics

March 2013Client demo of

production

system

April 2013First production

system

June 2013Systems ready for

delivery

June 2014First saturation

system delivered to

military client

November 2015Full dive control system

with saturation control

and ETWC delivered to

the client

Vessel Specific - New Build Dual Dive Bells

Vessel Specific - New Build SAT

Summary of New Features/Enhancements

• Improved speech quality to bell and chambers, digital communications

• LCUi provides unscrambled speech in bell in lost bell scenario

• Reduced demand on umbilical infrastructure

• Per-channel helium unscrambling

• Improved entertainment quality/selection e.g.

– Stored digital audio, internet radio, local analogue sources

• Reduce ‘housekeeping’ while retaining control (full over ride from tender)

– Diver/Sat chamber local controls

• Volume / Entertainment select/control

• Local side-tone, separates each user’s mic and headphones/speaker

– Eliminates feedback ‘howl’ at a station i.e. hands free option

• Capability to interface, camera and video projection

– Provides ability to re-task diver

• Enhanced Emergency Through Water Communications (ETWC) by use of software

enabled radio

– Notch filters available to eliminate in-band noise

– Enhanced transducers to improve acoustic transmission/reception

Thank you

Any questions?