A Texel Camera™ is being integrated with airborne hydrographic LADAR in order to produce first-rate 3D imagery of the seafloor.

The Center of Excellence for Research in Ocean Sciences (CEROS) and the US Navy plan to exploit this critical technology in various applications, including: clearing mines from surf and beach zones and other shallow water; accurately gauging surf conditions; planning amphibious operations and inserting special-ops forces; and mapping and characterizing coastlines and underwater topography and obstructions.

This 3D-mapping system will be capable of collecting the data in real-time and immediately transmitting it to mission planners and special-ops tacticians.

This system also potentially may be used in the development of algorithms for the automatic recognition of objects under water.

Illustration of the CEROS camera in action