CodaOctopus is recognised internationally as a specialist in underwater technologies for imaging, mapping, defence and survey and is a leading supplier of geosurvey solutions.

With two brands, three product groups and over 30 products, the company has undergone change and expansion

CodaOctopus has dramatically evolved from its single-product beginnings and now has a customer base spanning the globe and a growing range of products used in increasingly diverse applications.

In The Beginning
CodaOctopus is the result of the merger in 2002 of two successful UK companies, Coda Technologies and Octopus Marine Systems. Formed independently on almost the same day in 1994, Coda and Octopus had each carved out their own niche as front-runners in the field of marine geophysical survey, although they originally viewed each other as rivals.

Coda Technologies
Born out of Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, Coda was formed by four young PhD graduates to capitalize on the fruits of their research: the ingredients for a powerful sonar processor. Focused on automating the geophysical acquisition and reporting task, the Coda DA (Digital Acquisition) system was one of the first commercially successful and technically capable PC-based systems on the market. Starting in the North Sea, the Coda Pipeline Inspection system (PI) revolutionised the way that routine pipeline surveys were carried out. Very quickly, Coda gained a reputation for producing powerful and innovative software and its range of geophysical tools was widely adopted. Today, 'Coda' is a by-word for sonar acquisition, standing for technical excellence and survey efficiency - values which are carried forward in the Coda brand.

Octopus Marine Systems
Although formed at the same time in 1994, Octopus Marine Systems, based in Oxfordshire, England, started very differently. Unlike Coda where the product was very much home-grown, Octopus sought to identify embryonic technologies from academia and small developers and bring these to a wider market. Ironically, the work of Heriot Watt was on the Octopus radar for a time as a candidate for commercialisation; however the formation of Coda stalled these plans. The product for which Octopus became best known was the Octopus 360 Seismic Acquisition and Processing System. Originally developed by TSS (Watford, England), the 360 was a simple, no frills, work-horse system that suited the needs of the shallow seismic geophysical survey industry and is still in use around the world. Building on this success, the Octopus 460 Sidescan Acquisition System was developed as a simple digital solution for sidescan sonar. In an effort to expand further, Octopus chose to diversify and build on its marketing strengths, representing a number of international survey equipment manufacturers. As a result of this diversified business, Octopus became involved in a wider range of activities and markets culminating in the formation of Octopus Multibeam Services, a separate enterprise created to provide specialised survey skills and knowledge to the embryonic multibeam survey industry, working in partnership with leading survey organizations.

Merging and Expanding
Coming together in mid 2002 as the newly created CodaOctopus, it soon became apparent that the two 'rival' companies were in fact highly complementary, both in terms of product offerings and skills. In recognition of their standing, 'Coda' and 'Octopus' have been retained within the CodaOctopus family as two distinct brands. All other aspects of CodaOctopus were quickly integrated, with sales, support, development and manufacturing common across both brands.

OmniTech
Shortly after the company's formation, CodaOctopus was further expanded with the acquisition of OmniTech AS (Bergen, Norway).

For a period of ten years, OmniTech had been developing sonar technology to produce 3D underwater images in real time and as the developer of the Echoscope, it brought a totally new skill-set to CodaOctopus. Now, as Coda Octopus R&D, AS, the company's focus is on research and development of this technology, whilst the Echoscope is marketed as CodaOctopus' flagship product.

Diversification
Retaining offices in the UK and Norway, the activities of CodaOctopus were reorganized to reflect the key resources at each site. Corporate headquarters were opened in New York in 2004 and the company's stock now trades on the listed markets in the US.

Since merging, CodaOctopus has become a very different company. Further diversity beyond the Coda/Octopus/OmniTech offerings has been achieved through acquisition of product lines (such as thermal printers from Ultra Electronics, Weymouth, UK) and through technical partnerships with third party developers. Underpinning these two separate and successful brands, there are now three distinct product groups:

• geophysical systems
• motion sensing
• 3D imaging sonar

Geophysical Survey
Within the geophysical systems product range are the original Coda and Octopus acquisition systems compatible with all analogue sidescan sonar systems and sub-bottom profilers. Added to this is an extensive range of geophysical post processing software with the advanced capabilities of Coda GeoSurvey. To complement these traditional offerings, the Octopus 120 and 200 series range of thermal grey-scale recorders was added in 2004.

Position & Attitude Sensing
Introduced just prior to merging with Coda, the Octopus F180 Precision Attitude and Positioning Sensor was a radical departure from the traditional product range. Developed by external technology partners, the F180 was originally conceived for automotive applications, measuring vehicle dynamics. As a relative unknown in the field of marine motion sensing, moving into a market already serviced by a number of specialist companies required extensive effort on the part of CodaOctopus. Some years on, CodaOctopus has refined the F180 to meet the demands of the marine market, in particular the exacting requirements of the multibeam survey industry. Today the F180 has grown into the F180series, with a range of products for different requirements.

3D Imaging Sonar
Acquired along with OmniTech in 2002, the Echoscope 3D real time imaging sonar is the result of over 10 years of research and development. Generating instantaneous 3D images of underwater scenes, the Echoscope was originally conceived as a tool to aid underwater construction operations and was proven in the commercial oil and gas sector. In recent years the Echoscope has received interest from defence sectors, in such applications as mine countermeasures, underwater vehicle obstacle avoidance, underwater intruder detection and object inspection. Capable of visualising moving objects in a static scene as well as rapid imaging of docks, harbours and ship's hulls, the Echoscope is suited to the needs of the rapidly growing market for harbour surveillance as part of homeland security initiatives.

Keys to Success
A key to the success of CodaOctopus over the years is the company's approach to technical support which underpins the efforts of development, sales and production. CodaOctopus has a dedicated team focused solely on customer support providing technical expertise around the clock, 365 days a year. To make the most of the wealth of operational knowledge gleaned from users, an extensive knowledge web has been created, whilst field experience is fed directly into development programmes, ensuring products evolve to keep pace with the needs of the customer.

New Markets
With roots in the marine geophysical industry, CodaOctopus continues to build on its position as a provider of geosurvey solutions and motion sensing products. Whilst the company has already been successful in supplying naval customers, expansion into defence markets has been spearheaded by the Echoscope. Adapting to the different needs and expectations of defence customers and developing products to cope with the extreme conditions has brought a new set of challenges but the Echoscope has been purchased by a number of defence and commercial customers around the world.