Zebra-Tech

Zebra-Tech Ltd is a New Zealand-based company specialising in the design and manufacture of instrumentation for underwater research and fisheries catch sampling including sensor wipers.

The Hydro-Wiper is an innovative mechanical wiper system designed to fit easily to a wide variety of optical instruments. Using a regular gentle brushing action, the Hydro-Wiper keeps the optical window of the instrument clean from bio-fouling and unwanted deposits such as mud.

The Hydro-Wiper reduces the need for costly site visits to manually clean the instrument, maintaining data integrity throughout long deployments.

Zebra-Tech has created a range of models that are now being used by educational institutions, government agencies and private companies in all parts of the world and is represented by MSI in Australia.

Self-contained Hydro-Wiper

Ideal for extended deployments of sensors where external power supplies are not available. The wiper unit is connected to a rugged underwater housing that contains the batteries, control electronics, diagnostic LED and wipe interval select switch.

Powered by 6 user replaceable alkaline batteries, the Hydro-Wiper will operate for over 4 months with a 1 hour wiper interval. The wipe interval can be set from 15 minutes to 12 hours, to suit the environment. A high precision on-board clock ensures time drift during long deployments is minimal.

Data Logger controlled Hydro-Wiper

The Data-logger controlled Hydro-Wiper consists of a wiper unit that is attached to your sensor or underwater camera by a purpose designed clamp.

The wiper unit is connected to the Hydro-Wiper control module by an electrical cable. The control module is a small rugged wiring panel that connects to a power supply and a data logger. To initiate a wipe, the data logger simply sends a trigger signal to the control module.

Synchronizing the wipe with measurements from the instrument ensures data quality is consistent throughout the deployment and optical sensor fouling is minimized.