DAISY

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Drifting Acoustic Instrumentation System: passive acoustic monitoring with rich metadata, designed to minimize flow noise in tidal and wave environments.

// Overview

High-fidelity acoustics with full environmental context

DAISYs are hydrophone systems designed to minimize relative motion between the hydrophone and the surrounding water, which is the primary source of self-noise in towed or moored acoustic instruments. Each system consists of a surface expression, a hydrophone package, and a coupling between the two that isolates the hydrophone from surface-induced motion.

Onboard microcomputers record acoustic data at up to 512 kHz alongside a continuous stream of metadata: GPS position, IMU orientation, and (depending on variant) wind speed and direction. Systems operate for up to 12 hours between charges and are light enough to deploy and recover with a crew of two. When deployed in groups around a marine energy converter, DAISYs can also localize sources of radiated noise.

HydrophoneHTI 99-UHF Sample RateUp to 512 kHz Time SyncGPS PPS synchronization PositionGPS (surface expression) OrientationInertial Measurement Unit (surface and hydrophone) WeatherCompact weather station: wind speed and direction (surface) Depth Rating20 m (hydrophone package) BatteryUp to 12 hours between charges Weight (surface)~12 kg in air Weight (hydrophone)~6 kg in air
Product Brochure ↓
// Variants

Configured for your environment

C-DAISY

Surface expression connected to hydrophone package by rubber tether (1+ m length). Hydrophone surrounded by fabric flow shield to suppress flow noise.

Best for tidal and river current environments.

20 m depth >3.5 m/s currents ~10 kg buoyancy

Shallow DAISY

Surface expression rigidly connected to hydrophone package. Simplified deployment for limited-clearance environments; rigid connection can increase self noise.

Best for tidal and river currents with limited clearance.

1 m clearance >3.5 m/s currents ~10 kg buoyancy

W-DAISY

Surface expression connected by rubber tethers (2+ m) with intermediate heave plate for motion dampening. Designed for wave-dominated environments.

Best for open-water wave energy sites.

20 m depth Hs ~ 3 m waves ~20 kg buoyancy
// Features

Designed to minimize flow noise

  • Drifting design minimizes relative motion between hydrophone and water, resulting in lower self-noise than towed or moored systems
  • HTI 99-UHF hydrophone with up to 512 kHz sample rate for broadband acoustic monitoring
  • GPS PPS synchronization for precise time-stamped acoustic records
  • IMU orientation data on both surface expression and hydrophone package
  • Integrated weather station captures wind speed and direction with each deployment
  • Rich metadata stream accompanies every acoustic recording without separate data collection
  • Up to 12 hours battery life for full tidal cycle surveys
  • Lightweight and deployable by a crew of two from a small vessel
  • Array deployment enables acoustic source localization around marine energy converters
// Applications

Where DAISY is deployed

  • Marine energy acoustic assessment: characterize noise output of tidal turbines and wave energy converters
  • Marine mammal monitoring: detect and classify cetacean vocalizations at offshore energy sites
  • Acoustic habitat characterization: baseline surveys for environmental impact assessments
  • Tidal and river current environments: C-DAISY and Shallow DAISY variants
  • Open-water wave energy sites: W-DAISY variant for high sea-state conditions
  • Noise source localization: array deployments around converters and subsea structures

Ready to deploy?

Talk to our team about the right configuration for your environment and use case.

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