Anti-terror underwater monitoring system to be deployed for BeijingOlympics

Chinese scientists have developed an advanced underwater security monitoring system which is expected to put into use during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The program's chief researcher Xu Feng said that the system incorporates devices including diver detection sonar, underwater low-light-level imaging system, 3D high-definition side scanning sonar, and remote-controlled underwater vehicle.

"The monitoring system could detect, trace, identify and provide early warning of objects moving underwater, and it is also designed to search harbors and pools for underwater 'threat objects'," said Xu, who is also a researcher with the Institute of Acoustics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The system could be configured according to circumstances in different regions and demands, according to Xu.

Initiated in 2005, the underwater monitoring system was listed as one of CAS' key research programs.

A trial operation of the system at the 2006 Qingdao International Regatta in August this year in east China's Shandong province proved to be successful, Xu said.

Source: Xinhua