Hydrophone | Maritime Domain Awareness & Acoustic Sensing | Sofar Ocean
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SPOTTER PLATFORM
Hydrophone
Add a robust, AI-enabled hydrophone to your Spotter Platform to monitor and identify underwater sound in real time. Process data at the edge using built-in AI models or deploy your own algorithms for custom detection needs.
Sensor Specifications
| Sensor | Applied Ocean Sciences Borealis |
|---|---|
| Sensor Type | Piezoelectric |
| Frequency Range | 18 Hz – 25 kHz |
| Sensitivity | -203 dB re 1V/μPa |
| Self-Noise | < 31 dB re 1 μPa²/Hz |
| Power Consumption | 35 – 75 mW (mode dependent) |
| Sleep Power | < 5 mW in standby mode |
| Sampling Rates | 15k, 20.8k, 31.25k, 62.5k sps (configurable) |
| Directional Response | Omnidirectional |
| Pre-amp Gain | 26.4 dB before ADC |
| Bit Depth | 24-bit ADC (dithered to 16-bit logged) |
| Maximum Depth | 50 m |
| Power Supply | Spotter’s Li-ion battery (solar-rechargeable) |
| Operating Temperature | -5°C – 35°C |
| Size (Dia. × Len.) | ~51 mm × 254 mm |
| Weight | 0.85 kg (< 2 lb) |
| Interface Standard | Bristlemouth-native (plug-and-play) |
Collection Modes
Continuous
Always-on recording with scheduled data offload
Duty Cycling
Record intermittently to extend battery/SD usage
Event/Trigger
Automatic detection triggers high-resolution logging
Data Outputs
Waveform
Full acoustic waveform data for detailed analysis
Spectral
Frequency domain data for sound characterization
Event/Trigger
Timestamped acoustic events based on thresholds
Sound Pressure Level (SPL)
Timestamped acoustic events based on thresholds
Sound Exposure Level (SEL)
Cumulative sound energy measurements
Deployment & Best Practices
Configuration Options
Ideal for moored coastal deployments with one Spotter or a network. Integrate up to two more devices (e.g. pressure/current) per Smart Mooring (max 3 total).
Depth Placement
Place hydrophone ≥ 5 m below surface to avoid noise interference.
Remote Configuration & Controls
Direct control via Spotter Dashboard, binary/ASCII commands, and Sofar remote support.
Data Access & Analysis
Spotter Dashboard View real-time data and insights
API Access Retrieve data programmatically with our secure API
Onboard Storage Download data via SD card for offline analysis
Transmission Satellite and cellular options