At Oceanology International 2026, Ocean Sonics introduces new technologies designed to make underwater acoustic monitoring smarter and more accessible.
In this Q&A, the company discusses its latest product launches, strategic growth, and how real-time data is shaping the future of ocean operations and environmental compliance.
1. What Key Products or Technologies Will Ocean Sonics Be Launching or Showcasing at Oceanology International (OI) This Year, and What Makes Them Stand Out from Previous Offerings?
At Oceanology International, Ocean Sonics will be launching two major innovations.
First, we’re introducing our Impact plug-in software, designed to deliver real-time data and alerts for teams monitoring underwater sound levels during marine construction. Fully aligned with ISO 18406, Impact software streamlines compliance workflows and enables efficient, real-time monitoring of activities such as pile driving. By providing instant threshold notifications, it empowers operators to take immediate action, helping mitigate harmful noise impacts on marine life while maintaining regulatory compliance.
We’re also launching the icListen Kayak, our smallest and most scalable hydrophone to date. This low-power, smart sensor maintains the advanced processing capabilities of our icListen line but in a much smaller size. With real-time data streaming and enhanced integration flexibility, the Kayak opens new possibilities for deployment across a wide range of platforms.
Together, these products represent a step forward in making underwater acoustic monitoring smarter, more responsive, and more accessible.
2. Can You Share the Thought Behind Your Decision to Have Your Own Dedicated Booth (C300) for the First Time at Oceanology International, and What This Milestone Means for the Company?
Having our own dedicated booth (C300) at Oceanology International marks a significant milestone for Ocean Sonics.
For many years, we proudly exhibited within the Canadian Pavilion, which played an important role in our growth and international exposure. As demand for our products has expanded globally, so has our presence in the market. A lot like the expansion of our office space at home, we’ve reached a stage where we need more room to showcase our growing product portfolio and meet with partners and customers from around the world.
This dedicated space reflects not only our growth as a company, but also our confidence in the impact our technology is having across the globe.
3. How Do the New Products You’re Presenting Reflect Ocean Sonics’ Strategic Vision and Core Mission in the Underwater Acoustics and Ocean Observation Space?
At Ocean Sonics, our mission has always been to make underwater listening simple, accurate, and reliable. At our core, we believe that access to high quality underwater listening data should be accessible.
The ocean impacts all of us, yet we still understand so little about it. By developing hydrophones that are intuitive to deploy while delivering high-quality acoustic data, we make underwater monitoring accessible to a broader range of users, from researchers to industry operators.
Both the impact software and the icListen Kayak reflect this commitment. They simplify workflows, reduce barriers to deployment, and enable faster, more informed decision-making. These innovations continue our strategic vision of expanding access to real-time underwater listening.
4. What Real-World Ocean Science or Industry Challenges Are These New Systems Designed to Address, and How Have Customers or Early Testers Responded?
Impact plug-in software addresses one of the most pressing challenges in today’s marine environment: managing underwater noise during offshore construction. As activities such as offshore wind development and marine infrastructure projects increase, regulatory frameworks require continuous monitoring to ensure sound levels remain within approved thresholds.
Impact provides real-time alerts when thresholds are approached or exceeded, allowing operators to pause or modify activities immediately. This proactive capability not only supports regulatory compliance but also contributes to the protection of marine ecosystems.
The icListen Kayak responds to another growing industry need: compact, low-power sensors for autonomous and mobile platforms such as gliders, AUVs, floats, and ROVs. These systems often have strict power and space constraints. The Kayak delivers the full processing strength of our icListen technology in a smaller, more power-efficient package, without compromising data quality.
Early feedback has been extremely positive, particularly around ease of integration, real-time responsiveness, and the ability to deploy high-quality acoustic monitoring on platforms where it was previously impractical.
5. Looking Ahead, How Do You See These Product Innovations Shaping the Future of Underwater Monitoring and Ocean Data Collection Over the Next 3–5 Years?
Over the next three to five years, we see underwater monitoring becoming a key tool for anyone working in the ocean industry who need to make decisions quickly.
Technologies like Impact and the icListen Kayak enable smarter edge processing, faster decision-making, and broader deployment across fixed and mobile platforms. As ocean industries expand and environmental accountability increases, there will be greater demand for accurate, continuous acoustic data.
By reducing complexity and increasing accessibility, these innovations help move the industry toward more proactive approach to working in the ocean, where data is not only collected, but acted upon in real time.
Ocean Sonics is proud to be contributing to that evolution.
