UMass Boston

The Beacon Lab boasts a wide range of services, instruments, and platforms that can help inform and drive almost any BlueTech project. From sensor development to sample analysis, the Beacon Lab can utilize our internal assets as well as leverage a myriad of BlueTech, academic, and industry partners. Feel free to reach out to the Beacon Lab for help with any of your ocean-related needs. Read more about some of our services, instruments, and platforms below!

Facilities

Beacon Lab

The heart of the Beacon Lab is our dedicated lab space in the Integrated Science Complex (ISC) at UMass Boston. The lab is a mixed-use facility with space for meetings, online conferencing, powerful computer workstations, and benches for electronics and analytical work.

Fox Point Dock 

The Fox Point Dock is an ADA-compliant dock which is accessible at all tides on the Boston Campus and is available for use. There are enclosed lab spaces on the dock that are available for use allowing students and developers to test technologies in ocean water and provide real-time data to all. In addition, various vessels are available from UMass Boston Marine Operations.

Current services via the BEACON LAB

Vessel-based acoustic seafloor mapping in waters <1 – 20 m

• High-resolution 3D Swath Bathymetry: achievable grid cell sizes <10cm
• High-resolution 2D Sidescan Sonar Imagery: achievable grid cell sizes <5cm 
• Seismic reflection (sub-bottom) profiling (op. freq. 2-16 kHz)

Vessels

• Crewed: UMass Boston Marine Operations
• Uncrewed: Autonomous Surface Vessels (JetYak) shallow water data collection

Particle Size Analysis

Particle Size Analysis (PSA) through the Beacon Lab uses state-of-the-art technologies from Microtrac to cover the widest possible range. Analysis procedures can be tailored to best fit a clients needs. 

• Microtrac Camsizer XL (500 μm to 100+ mm)
• Microtrac Sync (20 nm to 2 mm)

JetYak being prepped for deployment