Imaging Sonar
Omniscan 450 FS
The Omniscan 450 FS puts scanning control directly in the hands of the ROV pilot. The transducer and electronics are housed in a single compact enclosure with a combined Ethernet and power interface. With a 50° vertical beam the FS gives both forward and downward visibility — wreck hunting, navigation and object detection out to 120 m, the range at which Cerulean say they have comfortably identified targets.
At a glance
- Frequency
- 450 kHz
- Maximum range
- 120 m
- Beam width
- 0.8°
- Beam height
- 50°
- Max ping rate
- 20 Hz
Full specification — 15 published figures ↓
Every Omniscan 450 FS Configuration
Every one is the same 450 kHz forward-looking sonar running the same SonarView software. Two things change: how deep the housing is rated, and which vehicle it is cut for.
Every one is the same 450 kHz forward-looking sonar running the same SonarView software. Two things change: how deep the housing is rated, and which vehicle it is cut for.
Omniscan 450 FS, and what it produces
Cerulean’s own photographs of the hardware, and real output from it — not renders.
Every published figure
15 specifications, as Cerulean publish them. Nothing here is estimated or converted.
| 100 m rated | 300 m rated | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency (nominal) | 450 kHz | 450 kHz |
| Maximum range | 120 m | 120 m |
| Beam width | 0.8° | 0.8° |
| Beam height | 50° | 50° |
| Vertical beam angle | 0° | 0° |
| Far field | 5 m | 5 m |
| Range resolution | up to 1/1200th of range | up to 1/1200th of range |
| Maximum ping rate | 20 Hz | 20 Hz |
| Max operating depth | 100 m | 300 m |
| Weight in air | 440 g | 825 g |
| Weight in water | −60 g (buoyant) | 325 g |
| Power | 10–30 V, 10 W max (pinging) | 10–30 V, 10 W max (pinging) |
| Data interface | 100BaseT Ethernet | 100BaseT Ethernet |
| Internal Ethernet switch | No | No |
| Electronics | Built in | Built in |
Maximum range is the range at which Cerulean has comfortably identified targets. SonarView will let you set the range out to 200 m.
Far field is the range beyond which the beam-width figure holds. Closer in, the effective beam is wider and sidelobes are larger.
Beam width is the nominal theoretical two-way (transmit and receive) 3 dB beam width.
Published by Cerulean — specification page
In the box, and what it does not include
A sonar is not a system. These are the parts you will need alongside it — each one with Cerulean’s own source.
What’s in the box
- Omniscan 450 FS unit with 1 m Ethernet cable terminated in 4-pin JST GH (fits the Blue Robotics Ethernet switch), with separate power and ground
- 4-pin JST GH to RJ45 (female) adapter
- 4-pin JST GH to 4-pin JST GH adapter
- 4-pin JST GH extension cable, 200 mm
What else you need
- SonarView, on a computerFree with the device. Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker, or as a BlueOS extension on the vehicle. Nothing logs without it. Source →
- 10–30 V DC and one Ethernet portA single cable carries Ethernet and power. On a vehicle with no spare port you will need a switch. Source →
- A way to know where you are — if you want a mosaicA stitched image needs position. On the surface that is GPS. Underwater it is a DVL, a USBL, or Omniscan's own Doppler motion tracking with two FS units. Source →
We supply the brackets, hubs, cables and spares alongside the unit — see what fits Omniscan 450 FS → or add them to the same enquiry.
Will it fit my vehicle?
Running a BlueROV2 or BlueBoat? Cerulean makes no Blue Robotics edition of the FS — the standard 100 m or 300 m unit is the one to order. The editions above exist only where the vehicle needs a different connector or housing.
Common questions
Answers Cerulean publish, each linked back to the page it came from.
FS or SS — which do I actually need?
They share electronics. The SS transducer is longer, which buys a narrower beam (0.5° against 0.8°) and more range (150 m against 120 m). The FS arrives sealed in its own housing; the SS electronics need an enclosure you provide. For most vehicles that packaging difference decides it before the range does. Source
Can one Omniscan do side scan?
Yes. Side scan comes from the vehicle travelling in a line, not from which way the sonar faces. You will need a position source to stitch it. Source
Can I run two Omniscans on one vehicle?
Yes, and it is the recommended rig — one forward, one on the beam. That gives you side scan and a second velocity axis for Doppler motion tracking. Source
Do I need a DVL for position hold?
Not necessarily. Two FS units at right angles give 2D Doppler motion tracking and position hold, out of the box on BlueOS / ArduSub. Expect 1–2 m/min drift — a real DVL is tighter. Source
100 m or 300 m rated?
That is the depth of water the housing survives, not the range. Both see out to 120 m. The 100 m unit is lighter (440 g against 825 g in air) and slightly buoyant in water. Source
Omniscan 450 FS on video
Published by Cerulean Sonar on their own channel.
Request an Omniscan 450 FS quote
Tell us the vehicle and the water depth and we will confirm the exact part number — and say so if a different model suits the job better.
Anything you have added to your quote list is carried into this form automatically.