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NSM 500 Launch

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Tag: surveillance sensor gimbal

SOMAG AG Jena launches

Nautical / Nimble Gyro Stabilization Mount NSM 500

SOMAG announces the launch of the new NSM 500, a medium-sized Gyro Mount between the smaller RSM 50 and the larger OSM 5000. With the launch of the NSM 500, SOMAG has now advanced all three devices of the marine and land product line to series 5.

Reliable Gyro Stabilization for Surveillance Sensors

The NSM 500 was primarily designed for the stabilization of surveillance sensors on medium to large maritime vessels and on mobile ground vehicles. Non-stabilized systems follow the movement of the water caused by the swell or the movement of the vehicle driving over uneven terrain, which adversely affects the detection and threat-tracking capabilities of the sensor. Using a Gyro Stabilization Mount ensures a stabilized field of view and high-resolution images by compensating the movements of the vessel or vehicle. This allows EO/IR systems to scan their environment without interference even in extreme sea and land conditions, in order to best detect, track and classify asymmetric air and surface threats. The NSM 500 is the perfect gimbal for IRST (infra-red search and track) and other surveillance systems to ensure 360° protection for surface vessels of naval forces or mobile land vehicles of land forces.

Reliable stabilization performance proven in long-term test

In 2022 an unprecedented long-term test was conducted with the NSM over a total period of 7 months (March to September). For this purpose, the NSM was installed on a frigate that was on a mission in the Mediterranean Sea. The Gyro Mount was placed in an elevated position on a mast high above the ship’s pivot, which represents a typical but also challenging case of application for the gyro gimbal, since this pivot offset causes the angular movements to result in tangential accelerations, to which additional sway, heave and surge accelerations add up. The task of the gimbal was to stabilize a panoramic, long-range, wide area surveillance sensor system.

Sebastian Schreiber, CTO at SOMAG comments: “The NSM is a real workhorse. The data we got from the test shows that the gyro gimbal delivers the best stabilization performance even over a long period of time and under different weather and water conditions, providing exceptionally sharp data and comprehensive situational awareness.”

The white line in the data sample shows the excitation of the ship, which moved in the roll axis up to almost +15°. The sensor on the other hand (yellow line) remained stable during this time and showed a residual deviation from perpendicular of just 0.11°. The use of the Nautical Gyro Stabilization Mount reduced the existing movements of the sensor system by about 45 times in this mission data example.

Data example

Long-term test NSM

 

Quality and improvement

In addition to this long-term test, further quality tests have been performed and successfully passed with the NSM in recent months, including a temperature test, an IP class test and a vibration test. The evolved NSM 500 features advanced control algorithms, enhanced diagnosis possibilities and an Ethernet communication interface that allows integration into existing networks as well as control and monitoring of multiple Gyro Mounts within the network.

NSM 500 now available

The new NSM 500 is commercially available as of now. For further questions and prices please contact SOMAG sales team.
In order to give you the best possible assistance, please include the following information in your request:

  • Where should the Mount be installed (floating platform, ship etc.)?
  • Dimensions (length/width/weight) of the platform or vessel
  • How many meters above the waterline should the Mount and the payload be installed?
  • Center of gravity and weight of the payload
  • Further information you consider important

The more information we get about the planned application, the better we can support you.

Find out more

NSM 500 – Marine

NSM 500 – Marine

NSM 500 – Land

NSM 500 – Land

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Environmental testing

Gyro Mounts to successfully pass temperature tests

SOMAG AG Jena has successfully completed temperature tests on its airborne, marine and land Gyro Stabilization Mounts at the independent and accredited test laboratory MeßTechnikNord GmbH in Jena, Germany, which specializes in conducting climatic product tests, such as cold, heat, thermal shock, and humidity tests. The temperature tests are part of a series of comprehensive environmental tests that the company performs at regular intervals, in addition to EMC and performance tests to ensure consistently high-quality standards for its devices.

Sebastian Schreiber, Chief Technology Officer at SOMAG, comments: “By means of environmental simulations, we can replicate environmental influences that occur in the course of a product life cycle to prove that our Gyro Mounts are able to face them. The analyses also help us to understand the different effects of extreme temperatures on the Mounts in operation, such as achieving the specified angles and angular velocities, as well as stabilization performance. In addition, it is important that we explore the limits of our devices.”

Temperature Tests Airborne Gyro Mounts

Tests were carried out on the GSM 4000 and DSM 400 Aerial Camera Stabilizers with their respective maximum payloads. The tests verified the acceptable temperature ranges for operation and storage given in the Gyro Mount specifications overview, which conforms to the RTCA DO-160 Equipment Section 4 / Temperature and Altitude / Category A1 standard:

Category A1
Operating Low Temp. [°C]-15
Operating High Temp. [°C]+55
Ground Survival Low Temperature (Storage) [°C]-55
Ground Survival High Temperature (Storage) [°C]+85

Both airborne gyro gimbals successfully passed the tests in the high and low temperature ranges. Beyond the limits of SOMAG specifications, the GSM 4000 kept performing well even at a minimum operating temperature of -32 °C.

GSM 4000 (left) and DSM 400 (right) with weight plates as payload
Temperature test setup in the climatic chamber in the facilities of MessTechnikNord

Temperature Tests Marine/Land Gyro Mounts


While airborne Gyro Stabilization Mounts are installed inside airplanes, the gimbals of the marine and land sector have to meet higher requirements. Installed up high on a mast of a frigate or on the back of an unmanned ground vehicle maneuvering through rough and dusty terrain, the Mounts in these application scenarios are directly exposed to harsh environmental influences such as blazing hot sun or freezing rain, which increases the stress on the material. However, even in these climatic conditions the Mount must prove that it can deliver its full power and achieve its specified performance and continuous torque. In the case of the NSM 400, this is 125 Nm and in the case of the OSM 4000, 225 Nm. This was tested by placing the payload off-center on the Mounts to setup a specific lever arm length to generate the continuous torque.

In the first phase, tests were carried out in accordance with the marine standards IACS E10 Rev. 7 and DNV-CG-0339. Both marine gyro platforms stabilized properly in the specified high temperature range up to 55 °C and in the low temperature range down to -25 °C with residual angles of 0.07° and less.

SOMAG Marine Mount Specifications
Operating Low Temp. [°C]-30
Operating High Temp. [°C]+55
Ground Survival Low Temperature (Storage) [°C]-55
Ground Survival High Temperature (Storage) [°C]+85
NSM 400 installed on top of OSM 4000, both with off-center payloads

“However, the requirements of our military customers go beyond this, just like our own specifications,” explains Arne Wollboldt, Application Engineer at SOMAG and responsible for environmental testing. NSM 400 and OSM 4000 demonstrated in the second stage that they performed perfectly even at -32°.

Wollboldt: “Up to this point, we had expected these results. But we wanted to see what would happen if we increase the difficulty and push the Mounts further, so we also tested an operating temperature down to -40 °C. An extraordinary cold, as it occurs for example in tundra regions and the arctic ocean. To create more natural conditions, we sprayed the NSM 400 with water and covered it with a layer of ice.”

A challenge that the surveillance sensor gimbal masters with flying colors. Thanks to its unique material, the protective bellow remains flexible and breaks the ice with the first movement, proving that the gimbal is capable of delivering best-in-class gyro stabilization for EO/IR systems even in extreme weather conditions.

Video Marine Gyro Stabilizer Temperature Test

Newsletter

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Keep yourself informed about SOMAG and the latest Gyro Mount technology.
We will send you regular information about:

  • exhibitions and event invitations
  • new products, services and videos
  • latest application examples, projects and partnerships

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