Technologies for Positioning and Placement of Underwater Structures

Technologies for positioning large underwater structures are categorized by their primary mode of operation, including optical, acoustic, electromechanical, inertial, and passive. The most dramatic improvement in positioning this century is the development of the global positioning system UPS. This technology can couple with newly developed sensors and improved computer-processing capabilities to provide extremely accurate surface and subsurface positions. These sensors include acoustic transducers and transponders, multibeam and side-scan sonar, acoustic cameras, lasers, video cameras, gyrocompasses, inclinometers, and motion sensors. Telemetry of data via radio link enhances the versatility of the sensors in remote locations.