Seafloor Systems
Seafloor Systems provides hydrographic survey solutions to the marine industry.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersShingle Springs, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Seafloor Systems does
Seafloor Systems, Inc. is a hydrographic survey equipment integrator and unmanned surface vessel (USV) manufacturer founded in 1999 by John Tamplin, a former US Navy Sonar Technician with EOD and mine-clearance survey experience. The company designs and builds a fleet of purpose-built USV platforms — the HyDrone 4.5 (one-person portable catamaran), TriDrone Gen.3 (foldable triple-pontoon with integrated echosounder), Trident (trimaran for multibeam surveys), EchoBoat-160 and EchoBoat-240 (two-person transportable survey vessels), and HydroCat-550 (5.5 m catamaran rated to sea state 5) — and integrates them with its proprietary AutoNav autonomous control system. Alongside its own Hydrolite single-beam echosounder line and the SeaRAY/Seafloor Scout multibeam sonars, Seafloor resells and bundles third-party hydroacoustic sensors and software from partners including Teledyne Marine, Valeport, Trimble, AML Oceanographic, EdgeTech, Applanix, HYPACK, Klein Marine, Norbit, Innomar, and General Acoustics, operating as a one-stop system integrator for hydrographic survey packages.
The business model combines hardware sales of USV platforms and sensor equipment, a short-term equipment rental program that funnels customers toward purchase, an ex-rental resale channel, and professional services including system integration, installation, training, support, and sea acceptance testing. All products and services are quote-based with net 30 payment terms. Go-to-market blends direct sales with a multi-tier dealer channel — Platinum Dealers (SITECH Deutschland, Duncan Parnell, SeilerGeo, AllTerra Central), standard domestic dealers, and international dealers in Germany, the U.K., Canada, India, and the Netherlands.
Seafloor primarily serves U.S. federal government agencies — USGS, USACE, NOAA, NSWC Crane, U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Army Dive Team — alongside commercial marine construction, dredging, hydrographic survey firms, and mining operators. The company is headquartered in El Dorado Hills, California, with a satellite presence in San Diego, and operates with approximately 25 employees. Notable recent engagements include a $1.2 million USACE Los Angeles District vessel retrofit, a custom HydroCat-180 build for USGS saltwater intrusion monitoring in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and a CRADA with NSWC Crane to demonstrate electromagnetic spectrum operations on USVs for Silent Swarm 2024.
Seafloor Systems firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Seafloor Systems
- Legal name
- Seafloor Systems, Inc.
- Website
- https://www.seafloorsystems.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Seafloor Systems provides hydrographic survey solutions to the marine industry.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Seafloor Systems industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Hydrographic Survey Equipment and Unmanned Surface Vehicles
- NAICS
- Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)
- SIC
- Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) & Autonomous Maritime Surface Platforms (IMABAIAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Marine & Underwater Robotics (USVs/UUVs) (HDAAAIAH), Marine Navigation Systems (ECDIS, Radar, GNSS, AIS) (IMAJAJAE), Maritime Unmanned Systems (USV/UUV) & Control Stations (IMABAKAJ)
Keywords
Where Seafloor Systems is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Shingle Springs
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Seafloor Systems business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- USV Hardware Sales: Sale of unmanned surface vessels including HyDrone, TriDrone, Trident, EchoBoat-160, EchoBoat-240, and HydroCat-550 platforms along with accessories like EchoCart/LARS deployment systems and AutoNav control systems.
- Hydrographic Equipment Sales: System integrator offering single beam sonar, multibeam sonar, side scan sonar, sub-bottom profilers, ADCP, hydrophones, INS/Motion systems, SVP/SVS/CTD devices, and software from third-party partners.
- Equipment Rentals: Rental program offering multibeam sonar, sidescan sonar, GPS/GNSS, attitude/reference systems, sound velocity/CTD instruments, sub-bottom profilers, and software on short-term basis.
- Professional Services: System integration, installation, training, support, and sea acceptance testing services for custom survey vessel retrofits and deployments.
- Ex-Rentals Sales: Sale of previously rented equipment in fully functional working condition at reduced prices.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Quote-based pricing for all products and services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Seafloor Systems product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Seafloor Systems designs and manufactures unmanned surface vehicle (USV) platforms for hydrographic surveying and integrates hydroacoustic sonar instruments and survey software from its own product lines (HyDrone, TriDrone, Trident, EchoBoat, HydroCat USVs, Hydrolite echosounders, AutoNav autonomous control) and third-party principals (Teledyne, Valeport, Trimble, AML, EdgeTech, Innomar, Applanix, HYPACK). The company delivers turn-key survey solutions including system integration, installation, training, support, and sea acceptance testing, supported by an equipment rental program and an ex-rentals sales channel.
Product overview
Seafloor Systems is a hydrographic survey equipment integrator and USV (unmanned surface vessel) manufacturer. The portfolio consists of two core pillars: (1) hydroacoustic sonar instruments and sensors — including Seafloor's own Hydrolite single-beam echosounders (SF200-9, SF30/200-26/9, Hydrolite-Plus single and dual frequency), SeaRAY and HydroLite-MB multibeam sonars, and Scout multibeam; alongside resold third-party equipment such as Teledyne SeaBat multibeam systems, Klein and StarFish side-scan sonars, General Acoustics sub-bottom profilers, Teledyne ADCPs (RiverPro, RiverRay), Teledyne RESON hydrophones, and AML/Valeport SVP/SVS/CTD instruments, as well as Applanix POS MV INS/motion systems — and (2) a fleet of purpose-built USV platforms — ranging from the ultra-portable HyDrone 4.5 (one-person catamaran) and TriDrone Gen.3 (foldable triple-pontoon with integrated echosounder) to mid-size platforms Trident (trimaran for multibeam), EchoBoat-160 and EchoBoat-240 (two-person transportable survey vessels), and the large HydroCat-550 (5.5 m catamaran for nearshore operations up to sea state 5). These vessels integrate the sensor instruments above and are equipped with Seafloor's own AutoNav / AutoNav Plus autonomous navigation systems. Accessory modules include SmartCast automated sensor winch and EchoCart/LARS deployment system. Seafloor also distributes a suite of hydrographic software including HYPACK, Carlson SurvCE, Trimble Access/SCS900, Teledyne PDS, CARIS HIPS/SIPS, and SonarWiz.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- HyDrone: One-person portable catamaran USV for hydrographic surveying, now in its 4.5 generation with enhanced battery system and tool-less assembly.
- TriDrone
- Trident
- EchoBoat
- HydroCat
- AutoNav
- SmartCast
- EchoCart/LARS
- HydroLite
Products and services
- HyDrone 4.5 USV Platform One-person portable catamaran USV for professional hydrographic surveys with HDPE hull, brushless thrusters, up to 9 hours battery endurance at survey speed, tool-less assembly, and compatibility with Hydrolite SF200 echosounder packages.
- TriDrone Gen.3 USV Platform Super-compact, foldable triple-pontoon USV with a built-in Hydrolite SF200-9 single-frequency echosounder, designed for hydrographic surveys in confined and remote bodies of water.
- Trident USV Platform Trimaran USV platform purpose-built for multibeam hydrographic surveys, featuring a central sonar bay for compact multibeam systems and detachable outriggers for one-person transport.
- EchoBoat-160 USV Platform Two-person portable USV (5th generation) with true one-button startup, integrated professional-grade sensor suites (single beam, multibeam, ADCP, side scan, sub-bottom profiler, magnetometer), up to 8 hours battery endurance, and remote control or autonomous wayfinding capability.
- EchoBoat-240 USV Platform Two-person transportable USV with wave-piercing hull design, 158.75 kg empty weight, 90.7 kg payload capacity, integrated SVP in the bow, live props to reduce weed entanglement, and capability to host three transducer wells (main, ADCP/DVL, SVP).
- HydroCat-550 USV Platform 5.5 m (18 ft) catamaran USV with articulating pontoons, gimballed deck, retractable sonar pole mount, and independently-actuated electric motors, capable of navigating up to sea state 5 conditions for inshore to nearshore autonomous hydrographic surveys.
- Hydrolite SF200-9 Single Beam Echosounder Single-frequency echosounder (200 kHz) designed for simplicity and reliability, featuring auto-ranging, universal compatibility with most survey equipment brands, and 1 cm depth accuracy over a 0.15-100 m operating range.
- Hydrolite SF30/200-26/9 Dual Frequency Echosounder Dual-frequency echosounder (30/200 kHz) offering expanded depth capability with an operating range of 0.4-200 m for flexible hydrographic survey operations.
- Hydrolite-Plus Single Frequency Echosounder Portable, single-frequency echosounder (200 kHz) built for rugged field conditions, offering 1 cm depth accuracy and 10 Hz ping rate across a 0.5-100 m range.
- Hydrolite-Plus Dual Frequency Echosounder Dual-frequency echosounder operating at 200/30 kHz with beam widths of 5°/26°, supporting dual-depth surveys across 0.5-200 m with up to 10 Hz ping rate.
- SeaRAY Multibeam Echo Sounder Seafloor SeaRAY is a multibeam echo sounder designed for portable, high-resolution underwater mapping and 3D terrain modeling.
- HydroLite-MB Multibeam Sonar Seafloor HydroLite-MB is a multibeam sonar system for professional hydrographic bathymetric surveys.
- Seafloor Scout Multibeam Sonar Seafloor Scout is a compact multibeam sonar system designed for portable hydrographic survey operations.
- AutoNav Autonomous Control System Autonomous control system that enables pre-programming of USVs to follow track lines during surveys, increasing data acquisition consistency and efficiency with stable firmware and a redundant IMU.
- AutoNav Plus Autonomous Control System Combines the AutoNav control system with long-range communication and a built-in computer for GPS and echosounder data logging and third-party application control, utilizing hydrographic survey software or other Windows-based data collection programs.
- SmartCast Sensor Winch System USV winch system designed to automatically deploy sensors to desired depths for vertical profiling during hydrographic surveys.
- EchoCart / LARS Deployment Platform Modular transit and deployment platform enabling efficient transport of USVs to launch ramps; the LARS davit add-on allows a single person to lift heavier vessels from a truck bed into the water.
- Hydrographic Equipment Rental Program Short-term rental program offering multibeam sonar, sidescan sonar, GPS/GNSS, attitude/reference systems, sound velocity/CTD instruments, sub-bottom profilers, and software for hydrographic survey campaigns.
- Hydrographic Survey System Integration & Professional Services System integration, installation, training, support, and sea acceptance testing services for custom survey vessel retrofits and deployments, including the $1.2 million USACE Los Angeles District North River Sounder retrofit project.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduce data collection time by 50% compared to traditional manned vessel surveys
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Seafloor Systems
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Seafloor Systems technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration32 records
AI capability4 records
Feature8 records
Seafloor Systems partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Exyn TechnologiesminorSeafloor co-presented with Exyn Technologies at Geo Week 2026 (Feb 16-18, Denver CO) on combined land-hydrographic survey workflow using unmanned surface vessels. Exyn showcased Nexys mobile SLAM platform while Seafloor demonstrated USV capabilities for integrated survey solutions.
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)coreContracted to develop two custom HydroCat-180 USVs for monitoring saltwater intrusion from Pacific Ocean into Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Contract awarded with six-month deadline; vessels delivered ahead of schedule despite supply chain challenges.
- Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) CranecoreCRADA partnership focused on research, development, and employment of EMSO (Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations) capabilities on unmanned surface vehicles leading up to Silent Swarm 2024 experimentation event. Joint mission to deliver innovative solutions and readiness to the nation and warfighter.
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Los Angeles Districtcore$1.2 million project to outfit a 26-foot North River 'Sounder' vessel into powerful hydrographic survey vessel. Seafloor executing system integration, delivery, training, support, and sea acceptance testing with 12-month delivery timeline.
- Teledyne MarinecoreAuthorized dealer of Teledyne Marine products including SeaBat multibeam sonar systems, Echotrac echosounders, and RESON hydrophones. Principal partner for comprehensive hydrographic solutions.
- ValeportcoreAuthorized dealer of Valeport oceanographic equipment including MiniSVP, SWiFT SVP, and miniCTD probes.
- TrimblecoreAuthorized dealer of Trimble positioning and survey equipment including SPS356, SPS585, SPS985 GNSS receivers and SCS900 survey software.
- AML OceanographiccoreAuthorized dealer of AML Oceanographic sound velocity and CTD instruments.
- EdgeTechminorAuthorized dealer of EdgeTech sub-bottom profilers and sidescan sonar systems.
- ApplanixcoreAuthorized dealer of Applanix POS MV inertial navigation systems for marine survey applications.
- HYPACKcoreSoftware partnership distributing HYPACK hydrographic survey software including HYSWEEP, DREDGEPACK, and integration support for AutoNav pairing.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Seafloor Systems competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Teledyne Oceanscience: Teledyne division that builds Z-Boat and other autonomous surface platforms for hydrographic survey; competes directly with Seafloor's HyDrone, EchoBoat and HydroCat lines, and shares access to Teledyne Marine sensors.
- ASV Global (L3Harris): L3Harris ASV builds autonomous surface vessels for defense, commercial and survey markets; competes with Seafloor in unmanned hydrographic and route-survey missions and is a more capital-backed rival for defense tenders.
- Maritime Robotics: Norwegian USV maker offering the Otter, Mariner and SeaCat unmanned surface platforms for hydrographic and oceanographic surveys; overlaps Seafloor's portable and mid-size USV categories and competes in Europe.
- SeaRobotics: US-based builder of autonomous surface vessels (USVs) such as the SR-Surveyor M1.8 and USV-2600 for hydrographic, port-security and environmental surveys; directly comparable product line and customer base.
- OceanAlpha: Hong Kong-based manufacturer of USVs (ME40, L25, etc.) for hydrographic, security and environmental missions; competes in the portable/small-USV segment and is a relevant emerging rival for international tenders.
- Saab Seaeye: Saab-owned underwater robotics company making remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles; comparable in autonomous marine robotics and a defence-adjacent competitor with much greater resources.
- Liquid Robotics (Boeing): Maker of the Wave Glider unmanned surface platform powered by wave and solar energy for persistent ocean monitoring; comparable autonomous maritime surface platform with a defense/commercial customer base.
Broad incumbents
- Teledyne Marine: Tier-1 hydroacoustic OEM that supplies Seafloor's multibeam (SeaBat), single-beam (Echotrac) and hydrophone lines; broader portfolio across sonars, gliders and cameras gives it incumbent power over both Seafloor's supply and end customers.
- Kongsberg Maritime: Global supplier of multibeam sonars, sub-bottom profilers, ADCPs and integrated subsea systems; competes at the higher end of the survey stack that Seafloor integrates and resells.
Others
- HYPACK (Xylem): Hydrographic survey software vendor whose HYPACK/HYSWEEP/DREDGEPACK suite Seafloor distributes; a complementary rather than competing partner, but also a competitor to any Seafloor software ambitions.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Seafloor Systems social profiles
Digital presenceSeafloor Systems financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Seafloor Systems leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Seafloor Systems funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Seafloor Systems M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Seafloor Systems
What does Seafloor Systems do?
Seafloor Systems designs and manufactures unmanned surface vehicle (USV) platforms for hydrographic surveying and integrates hydroacoustic sonar instruments and survey software from its own product lines (HyDrone, TriDrone, Trident, EchoBoat, HydroCat USVs, Hydrolite echosounders, AutoNav autonomous control) and third-party principals (Teledyne, Valeport, Trimble, AML, EdgeTech, Innomar, Applanix, HYPACK). The company delivers turn-key survey solutions including system integration, installation, training, support, and sea acceptance testing, supported by an equipment rental program and an ex-rentals sales channel.
Is Seafloor Systems a public or private company?
Seafloor Systems is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Seafloor Systems founded?
Seafloor Systems was founded in 1999. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Seafloor Systems based?
Seafloor Systems is headquartered in Shingle Springs, United States, in the North America region.
How does Seafloor Systems make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. USV Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are hydrographic Equipment Sales, equipment Rentals, professional Services and ex-Rentals Sales.
Who are Seafloor Systems's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Teledyne Oceanscience, ASV Global (L3Harris), Maritime Robotics, SeaRobotics, OceanAlpha, Saab Seaeye and Liquid Robotics (Boeing). Broad incumbents are Teledyne Marine and Kongsberg Maritime. HYPACK (Xylem) is listed as an others.
Does Seafloor Systems have an API?
No public API is recorded for Seafloor Systems.
What industry is Seafloor Systems in?
Seafloor Systems's product category is Hydrographic Survey Equipment and Unmanned Surface Vehicles. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABAIAE, Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) & Autonomous Maritime Surface Platforms, with a secondary code of HDAAAIAH, Marine & Underwater Robotics (USVs/UUVs). Its NAICS code is 334511 and its SIC code is 3812.