The ODAAR Instrument is an airborne, rapid wide-area volumetric bathythermogrpah. U.S. Navy P-3 Orion aircraft equipped with the ODAAR system fly grid patterns over the area of interest, dropping Airborne eXpendable BathyThermographs (AXBTs) at grid interstices. Each AXBT parachutes to the surface, inflates a float, raises an antenna and then releases a sinking temperature probe. Data from the probe is sent to the aircraft via VHF radio link, demodulated by aircraft systems and fed into the ODAAR processor, which is a based on a ruggedized PC containing a multi-channel A/D unit. ODAAR receives and processes up to 8 AXBT data streams simultaneously, displaying them and allowing the user to manipulate the data view in various ways. The system's GPS unit provides a time standard as well as location information for each data set. Ancillary displays provide signal quality and diagnostic information. Below is a screen capture of the application's main window. I designed and wrote the software, integrated the hardware, became qualified as a Navy flight specialist and operated this instrument on many field tests.
