Indo Pacific 2022: Sentient launches shipborne variant of ViDAR optical sensor

A visualisation of the ViDAR Surface sensor, which was unveiled at Indo Pacific 2022. (Sentient )

Sentient Vision Systems has launched a shipborne variant of its visual detection and ranging (ViDAR) persistent optical sensor system known as ViDAR Surface.

ViDAR is the company's wide area maritime search system that has been designed to detect small objects of interest on the surface of the water over significantly greater areas than traditional electro-optical and infrared sensors.

The system utilises an array of optical sensors that takes consecutive images of its surroundings at preset time durations. These are then fed into an artificial intelligence-driven algorithm that digitally interrogates these images for subtle changes that may indicate the presence of objects of interest. The system can detect, track, classify, and filter hundreds of objects simultaneously to assist the operator in focusing on the most pertinent threats at the moment, said the company.

Variants of the ViDAR system are in service on various fixed-wing and rotor-wing aircraft of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the US Coast Guard (USCG), and the Mexican Navy, said the company.

Speaking to Janes at the Indo Pacific 2022 exhibition in Sydney that ran from 10 to 12 May, Sentient's chief technology officer Mark Palmer described ViDAR Surface as a sensor that fills in the capability gap that exists between when an object of interest is too small to be detected by existing shipborne radar systems and when the vessel is not able to utilise its radars to minimise detectability by hostile forces.