Breaking Boundaries in Subsea Imaging: How the ISS360 Series is Redefining Compact Sonar

January 28, 2026

Subsea Imaging, 360° Field of Vision Compact Sonar Target Identification and Obstacle Avoidance

Impact Subsea is proud to highlight the continuous development and global success of the ISS360 Imaging Sonar series.

Since its groundbreaking debut in 2020, the ISS360 has evolved into the industry’s premier solution for Subsea Imaging on ROV and AUV for navigation and target identification, offering a modern, high-performance replacement for legacy, scanning sonar systems.

A Five-Year Journey of Technical Excellence

Launched in March 2020 as the world’s smallest scanning, imaging sonar, the ISS360 was designed to provide a step-change in capability for the underwater vehicle market.

The ISS360 Imaging Sonar has undergone development, evolving from the world’s most compact, scanning sonar into a high-definition powerhouse that outperforms systems many times its size.

Over the past five years, Impact Subsea has maintained a rigorous development roadmap to meet the increasing demands of the subsea industry:

2020: The Foundation: Introduced resilient operation via inductive coupling, entirely removing the need for slip rings, a common failure point in traditional scanning sonars.

2021: Extreme Depth: Launched the 6,000-meter rated ISS360, featuring a Titanium housing and specialized pressure-compensated components for ultra-deepwater missions.

2022: High-Definition Clarity: The launch of the ISS360HD brought a 1° acoustic angular resolution and a 2.5mm range resolution, enabling operators to identify targets in zero-visibility conditions with unprecedented detail.

2023: Seamless Integration: Direct GitHub access to an Open-Source Software Development Kit (SDK), allowing AUV developers to integrate the sonar directly into bespoke software packages.

2024: Released Impact Subsea Signalling Scheme (IS³): To reduce interference between sonars operating in close proximity to each other. This advanced signalling scheme makes use of CHIRP combined with Phase Shift modulation and coding.

2024: Released the ISP360: Expanding the sonar range with a profiling sonar option.

Seamless Integration: Open-Source SDK

Impact Subsea believes in empowering users to push the boundaries of subsea autonomy. To facilitate this, the company provides a free, open-source Software Development Kit (SDK) for direct integration. This operating-system-independent library, available via GitHub, has allowed AUV developers and manufacturers to integrate the ISS360 sonar directly into bespoke software packages, enabling custom interfaces and advanced vehicle autonomy.

The Ideal Upgrade for Legacy Systems

If your operations relied on recently discontinued compact scanning sonar lines, the ISS360 offers a superior path forward. It was designed from the ground up to exceed legacy sonar performance in every metric.

While the ISS360 represents the cutting edge of sonar development, Impact Subsea understands that reliability is built on support. The company is dedicated to providing long-term availability and comprehensive technical support for the ISS360 range.

To ensure peak performance throughout the life of the sensor, Impact Subsea offers professional servicing to maintain seal integrity, O-rings and calibration.

Proven Performance for Subsea Imaging

The ISS360 has earned “performance wins” in some of the most challenging subsea environments. Notable achievements include:

High-Value Recovery: Guiding a Mohawk ROV to recover over $1 million in lost oceanographic equipment in near-zero visibility.

Scientific Autonomy: Integration into the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) REMUS AUVs for advanced obstacle avoidance.

Infrastructure Lead: Trusted by Bay Dynamics for high-precision reservoir inspections.

Cable Touchdown Monitoring: Integrated with North Sea Systems’ innovative CableFish® system.

“The ISS360 was designed to be a step-change in the miniature sonar market,” says Ben Grant, Managing Director, Impact Subsea. “Advanced acoustics enable excellent image clarity and by eliminating slip rings and utilising Titanium as standard, we provide a more physically resilient sonar. When combined with our expert service and support, the ISS360 offers a level of longevity and performance that was previously unavailable in a sonar of this size.”

Looking forward, Impact Subsea continues to invest in the long-term development of the ISS360 and ISP360 Sonar range. Further new developments in the ISS360 range are expected to be released later in 2026.