1. For any of our readers less familiar, give us a quick overview of JASCO Applied Sciences and the company’s area of expertise…
Our underwater acoustic work supports a wide range of markets, with services that include acoustic propagation modeling, animal movement modeling, sound source measurements, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), and associated data analytics.
In addition to our environmental services, JASCO offers specialized expertise in noise and vibration control aboard vessels. We support shipyards across all phases of the shipbuilding process to ensure compliance with underwater radiated noise (URN) and onboard acoustic criteria. This includes predictive modeling, precision measurements, and the development of tailored noise mitigation strategies.
Beyond our consulting services, JASCO engineers and manufacturers high-performance, scientific-grade instrumentation and autonomous systems for in-situ data collection. These systems operate in Near-Real-Time (NRT) or by archival recording. Our product suite includes integrated ocean observatories, PAM systems deployed on Maritime Uncrewed Systems (MUS), advanced Acoustic Detection, Classification, Localization, and Tracking (DCLT) products, and shipboard noise and vibration control systems. We also develop monitoring systems designed to withstand deployment in the Arctic and other extreme environments. These systems are used by JASCO team members internally but also deployed globally by our clients and research partners.
What sets JASCO apart is our ability to deliver dual-use solutions that support both environmental science protection and naval defense operations. A prime example is our OceanObserver™ system, which is used aboard MUS platforms for both marine mammal monitoring projects, and for Anti-Submarine-Warfare (ASW) operations. Demonstrating the versatility in capabilities OceanObserver™ can provide both scientific instrument quality measurements and satisfy military operational requirements.
2. How does JASCO’s OceanObserver™ work to help advance the role of passive underwater acoustic monitoring?
JASCO’s OceanObserver™ is a versatile, multi-sensor data acquisition, recording, and edge-computing platform specifically engineered for underwater acoustics, that seamlessly integrates into a range of platforms such as, surface buoys, USVs, and UUVs.
It’s also often used in cabled systems such as ocean observatories and Underwater Listening Stations, where it functions as a data acquisition and real-time streaming device.
OceanObserver is specifically designed to support multichannel passive acoustics. It can support up to sixteen acoustic channels with 256 ksps 24-bit sampling, and 512ksps sampling can be supported on up to eight channels. This makes it ideal for applications requiring broadband detection or spatial localization of sound sources in complex acoustic environments.
The system is based on the Zynq XC7Z020 chip, which combines a dual-core ARM processor and FPGA fabric. On-board signal processing can include both frequency and spatial filtering, automated detection of underwater sounds and acoustic events, and underwater noise measurements, all in near real-time.
OceanObserver is highly adaptable. It can power, control, and communicate with a wide range of external sensors and peripheral systems, including vehicle control computers and telemetry systems. At just 2.6 watts, Observer is extremely power efficient, making it operable from small, battery or solar powered platforms, and enabling long-endurance and persistent monitoring missions.
The OceanObserver system has been deployed across a range of applications and platforms. For instance, Teledyne Webb Research has adopted OceanObserver for integration aboard their Slocum™ underwater glider and is also used in the Boundary Pass Underwater Listening Stations.
3. Tell us more about last year’s successful deployment of a swarm of AUVs used to detect and localize marine mammals…
In September 2024, as part of a collaborative marine mammal monitoring mission, JASCO, sponsored by Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), and Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), deployed three Slocum gliders equipped with OceanObserver systems in Roseway Basin, a designated critical habitat on the Scotian Shelf, off the coast of Nova Scotia. This region is recognized as a critical habitat for endangered and at-risk marine mammal species.
The objectives of this deployment were to perform a structured experiment evaluating the capability of directional gliders to localize marine mammals, and to conduct marine mammal monitoring operations in Roseway Basin for an extended period following the experimental phase. NRT directional detections were used to estimate the location of a fixed sound source during a four-day experiment aimed at empirically measuring detection and localization performance.
Throughout this deployment, the gliders successfully detected vocalizations from multiple whale species, including Fin, Sei, Blue, and North Atlantic Right Whales. Personnel from both DFO and JASCO were provided an intuitive geo-spatial visualization of glider tracks, marine mammal directional detections, and heatmaps of localizations via Blue Ocean Marine Tech Systems SeaSuite™ web-portal. The detection data and glider tracks from all three platforms were integrated and made publicly available via DFO’s Whale Insight web portal.
4. How could a similar approach to fielding uncrewed assets be applicable to optimizing naval defense and security operations?
The Roseway Basin deployment coincided with the simultaneous operation of three additional Slocum gliders off the coast of Troia, Portugal, as part of NATO’s Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping using Maritime Unmanned Systems (REPMUS 24) exercise. During REPMUS, the gliders equipped with the same OceanObserver systems detected underwater targets in an anti-submarine warfare barrier experiment. Together, these two deployments effectively demonstrate the potential dual-use capabilities of Slocum gliders integrated with OceanObserver delivering directional passive acoustic solutions for both marine environmental monitoring and defense applications.
The REPMUS deployment successfully demonstrated early warning and indicating, and persistent maritime surveillance capabilities using underwater gliders. As part of the ASW Barrier experiment, three Slocum gliders, each equipped with JASCO Applied Sciences’ OceanObserver successfully detected and localized acoustic targets in real time. In addition to target tracking, the gliders also provided in-situ ambient noise and environmental data measurements to support Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA), enabling sonar performance prediction and own-ship vulnerability assessment.
Users supporting UWW and REA operations were provided an intuitive, geo-spatial visualization via Blue Ocean Marine Tech Systems’ SeaSuite platform. The interface displayed glider tracks, bathymetry, collected data, target detections, bearing estimates, and heatmaps of localizations. Position and contact data were also seamlessly transmitted to the Exercise Commander using Nato’s CATL protocol.
5. What does the future of underwater acoustics monitoring look like in the age of scalable uncrewed vehicles and at-sea autonomy?
Swarms of Marine Unmanned Systems represent the future of persistent underwater surveillance and monitoring. The continued advancement of AI will drive greater autonomy in these platforms, enhancing their ability to perform in-situ detection, classification, localization, and tracking capabilities.
Advancements in power generation, hybrid-power systems, power harvesting, battery storage, and energy transfer technologies, combined with increasingly power-efficient sensors and edge-computing systems, will significantly extend mission endurance of MUS while enabling greater onboard functionality. At the same time, the evolution of wideband satellite communications, such as Iridium Certus or StarLink, will allow for the transmission of richer, more timely datasets to stakeholders ashore. These enhanced communication capabilities will also enable real-time interaction between shore-based operators and analysts to interact more effectively with deployed systems.
The use of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology creates an opportunity to repurpose existing ocean-bottom telecom infrastructure into underwater sensing and communication networks. These networks could provide persistent, wide-area acoustic coverage and data relay capabilities that can be leveraged by both crewed and uncrewed underwater vehicles. Connectivity, both at the surface and while submerged, will continue to improve significantly, with increasing bandwidth and reliability unlocking new operational possibilities for marine unmanned systems. A range of UUVs and USVs will play complimentary roles, from compact, low-cost systems to larger, more capable models, each contributing unique capabilities within a complex, networked, system-of-systems. Larger crewed and uncrewed vessels will transport and provide on-site support for swarms of smaller robots.
This feature appeared in ON&T Magazine’s 2025 May Edition, Oceanography & Remote Monitoring, to read more access the magazine here.
