2023: a year of globetrotting, office upgrades and new innovations for aae
The team at aae is preparing to wind down after another incredibly busy year; with team members jetting off to every corner of the globe, training being delivered worldwide, and new advancements being made with our technology and the solutions we’re pioneering for businesses within the marine industry.
Before we wrap things up for the year, we thought we’d take a look back at some of our 2023 highlights. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to all of our clients and everyone who’s been on the journey with us this year, and we look forward to sharing a number of exciting new developments in 2024.
Out and about
We’ve been fortunate to have attended some incredible events and visited many wonderful places this year. As the world continues to emerge from the restrictions of the pandemic, we’ve seen the return of a number of high-profile industry events, which have continued to deliver incredible value despite the challenges of the last few years.
We attended no less than 30 events in 2023, with Ocean Business serving as one of the main highlights. Described as the global meeting place for ocean science and technology professionals, we’re regular attendees at Ocean Business, and we enjoyed a highly successful three-day run this year, demonstrating our INS + USBL positioning system, Pyxis.
Other highlights have included further Pyxis demonstrations in Australia, subsea technology training in North America, Ocean Scan training in Chile, Nexus 2 training in Denmark, and training with the Department of National Defence in Canada.
Launches, developments and improvements
The members of our design team always have their eyes on the next innovation; continuously seeking new ways to address the needs of our clients and improve functionality in order to keep them one step ahead in their research. These include:
- The release of our 7 element omni-directional transceiver for Nexus 2 and Pyxis, as part of our Easytrak USBL product range.
- The release of our Nexus 2 Lite with a 5 element omni-directional transceiver, complete with integral AHRS, depth sensor and temperature sensor.
- The release of REL-1529P and PAM-3515, to operate with our 1500 series release beacons.
- An improvement to our Nexus 2 operating system, with user interface for Windows 10 embedded.
- An update to our MiniPod wireless protocol and receiver software in order to allow the latest RTCM corrections to be received by MiniPods.
Team news
There’s been plenty to celebrate within the aae team this year, from new joiners to milestones for long standing members. Here’s a glimpse into what we’ve been up to:
Pam Chapman celebrates 15 years
After joining back in 2008, Pam Chapman celebrated the substantial milestone of her 15-year anniversary with aae. As Group Office Administrator, Pam is one of the longest-standing members at aae and a hugely valued member of the team. Have a read of her blog to learn more about how her role has evolved over the years and what she enjoys most about working with us!
Ashleigh Mingay runs the London Marathon
aae’s Operations Co-ordinator, Ashleigh Mingay, laced up her boots back in April to complete the incredible achievement of running the London Marathon. After surpassing her fundraising goal of £2000, Ashleigh was able to make an incredible donation to the charity Mind, in honour of her own journey with mental health and the support she’s received over the years.
New faces within the team
2023 saw us celebrate the team members who have been with us for years, as well as a few fresh faces who are just beginning their journey with aae.
This year, we welcomed Tomasz Prudlack as QC Inspector, Nicole Eman as Office Administrator, and Phillip Boyne as Electronics Test Technician. They’ve all been brilliant additions to the team, and we can’t wait to see what they achieve as their careers unfold with us. Check out their new starter introductions to learn more about them.
Coming soon
We have a number of exciting launches across our product lines in 2024, as well as an exciting new office update for the aae team.
The MiniPod family is growing
A new member will be joining the MiniPod family, with the exciting addition of the MiniPod 201G. The MiniPod 200 series offers all the features of our popular MiniPod 101G series, but with additional data accuracy and greater performance in harsh offshore environments. Key features include:
- Robust GNSS receiver with integrated antenna
- Multi-band L1 + L2 + L5 receiver
- RTK Moving Base and Rover Operation
- Multi-constellation of positioning satellites
- External Sensor Integration
- Submersible, 50m rated
- Wide area corrections or external RTCM
- Assembly shock rated to 75G for field endurance in harsh conditions
- Worldwide RF remote wireless data options
Stay tuned for more details to be revealed soon!
Upgrades for the team at aae HQ
The aae team is looking forward to a snazzy office upgrade in the new year, which will include a mezzanine floor for new stock, ultimately increasing capacity for production and storage, as well as a greener energy supply with solar panels being added to the roof of our head office in Great Yarmouth, UK.
We’re really excited about how this new space will help us to grow as a business – and we’ll share some photos with you as soon as it’s ready!
A happy New Year from us all
We’re all looking forward to taking a well-earned break as the year comes to a close, but we can’t wait to get back out on the road and continue supporting our clients in 2024.
We’ll share our events calendar within the next few weeks so that we can meet as many of you as possible if you’re headed to any of these. Be sure to keep up with all of our movements and new releases over the next year – we can’t wait to share what’s to come.