Tetra Tech MEC/UXO Detection System Deploys via Neoteric Hovercraft
Tetra
Tech, Inc., in collaboration with Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc., has produced a new
environmentally-sensitive munitions detection system capable of accessing shallow
areas where no other watercraft is able to travel and where sensitive habitat
is only inches beneath the water’s surface. Tetra Tech’s in-house developed TEMA
(Towed Electromagnetic Array) attaches to the company’s customized Neoteric
hovercraft to permit MEC/UXO detection in areas previously accessible only by
more expensive, less sensitive aircraft-based systems.
 |
In an early prototype
developmental model Neoteric hovercraft, the TEMA system
is tested and
evaluated to determine the optimal pivoting and pushing system.
|
Richard
Funk, Senior Geophysicist with Tetra Tech’s Marine Mapping Group, describes the
TEMA’s unique features: “Unlike a
magnetometer, the TEMA is an active sensor that can detect all metals, ferrous
and non-ferrous. Its detectors are focused, so they’re not affected by nearby
metal structures such as piers, bulkheads and bridges. Data from all devices –
multiple high-power EM sensors, altimeters, positioning sensors and video/still
cameras – is recorded in real time. The 3-meter swath coverage and the use of
high-power EM units increases survey power, with lower operational costs and
better detection capabilities.”
Tetra Tech
has researched the use of hovercraft for MEC/UXO survey for many years,
particularly for use in difficult areas for data collection, such as shorelines
and surf zones. “Our goal is to push it
to the next level so we can go where other people can’t go,” Funk says, “A hovercraft takes you places you can’t go
with conventional craft, places that are too shallow for a boat, places you
can’t walk.”
Tetra Tech
selected Neoteric to manufacture their hovercraft because “Neoteric’s HoverTrek™ outmaneuvers other hovercraft on the market, and
our projects demand that increased control,” said Funk. “Additionally, Neoteric has decades of
experience custom-manufacturing their hovercraft to client specifications, and
we were impressed by the company’s mandate that repeated testing be performed
throughout the customization of our hovercraft.” The craft’s customizations
include mounting points for the TEMA sensor array, mounts for the electronics
modules, mounts for the pilot’s display and data collectors’ displays, a table
for data collectors, TEMA battery mounts, GPS antenna mounts, and a bimini top.
 |
Tetra Tech’s fully
customized Neoteric HoverTrek™ is prepared for its final over-water testing.
|
The
unusual maneuverability of the Neoteric hovercraft is attained through a
patented fly-by-wire reverse thrust system, which makes it the only hovercraft
on the market with effective brakes. As Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald
explains, “Our reverse thrust system
surpasses jet aircraft in efficiency; while most aircraft deliver an average of
18 percent thrust in reverse, the HoverTrek™ delivers 60 percent. Unlike other
hovercraft, the HoverTrek™ can fly backward, spin, and hover over ice and on
swift water.”
Tetra Tech
will deploy its new hovercraft-based munitions detection system in early 2015
to conduct Phase 2 of an ongoing MEC/UXO remedial investigation and feasibility
study at a Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) for Formerly Used
Defense sites (FUDS) area in the Caribbean. The site was an impact range for
aerial bombs and rockets, missiles, mortars and naval projectiles from 1903
until 1975.
The entire
site comprises 1,030 acres; the area to be surveyed with the TEMA-equipped
Neoteric hovercraft is more than 200 acres of shallow coral reefs with listed
and protected corals. This area was originally excluded from the survey due to
the potential for damaging the coral. By using the Neoteric HoverTrek™, which
hovers nine inches above the surface of the water, Tetra Tech can now complete
the survey with confidence that the coral reefs are in no danger of harm.
The pairing
of the TEMA system with the Neoteric hovercraft’s low environmental footprint -
less than 1/30th that of a human foot – is an excellent example of
how the perfect vehicle for the job can also be the perfect vehicle for the
environment, allowing personnel to work safely and efficiently while protecting
sensitive habitat.
About
Tetra Tech, Inc.:
Founded in
1966, Tetra Tech is a consulting, engineering, construction management and
technical services firm with 14,000 employees and 330 offices worldwide. Based
in Pasadena, California, Tetra Tech has decades of experience with MEC/UXO
detection and remediation for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and
commercial clients.
About
Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc.:
Founded in
1960 and based in Terre Haute, Indiana, Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. is the
world’s original light hovercraft manufacturer. The Neoteric HoverTrek™, the
only hovercraft in the industry with effective brakes, is utilized in
commercial, rescue, recreational and military operations in more than 50
countries.
www.neoterichovercraft.com
