US Coast Guard Chooses Smart Tether ROVs from KCF Technologies

The US Coast Guard has selected Smart Tether, a revolutionary technology for underwater navigation and positioning, from KCF Technologies.

The Smart Tether is a ready-to use device, which will be used by the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) of the US Department of Defense. The contract worth nearly $ 2.2 million is all set to provide a technological boost to the US Coast Guard’s (USCG) Video Ray Remotely Operated Vehicles Fleet.

The Smart-Tether is a non-acoustic navigation system; the idea for its design originated as part of the Navy SBIR project and was built by KCF. Using this device, the divers and underwater vehicles, a part of USCG are guided with GPS positioning. The search activities that are conducted underwater are greatly enhanced with the mapping, target-marking and scanning features offered by Smart-Tether. Usage and installation of the device is hassle free, since all the sensors are housed within the tether. Under the contract, all the VideoRay ROVs would be upgraded using the Smart-Tether and the system will specifically adhere to CTTSO’s requirements to tackle challenging tasks. Challenging environments such as strong currents and low-visibility are required to be handled by the device according to CTTSO and USCG standards.

The President of KCF, Dr. Jeremy Frank, explained that the sophisticated technological offering made by the Smart-Tether would take ROVs operation to inspection-class level. KCF mainly deals with the manufacture of products that are used for industrial and military purposes.

Source: http://www.kcftech.com/