Technocean , Inc. Information

Technocean Inc. was founded in 1984 by Henry (Hank) White in San Diego California at the request of Dr. Peter Niiler (now deceased) of Scripps Oceanographic Institute. Technocean, Inc. was charged with the task of developing an LCD or, Low Cost Drifter. Many different versions were initially tried including among others, the "TRISTAR" drogue format. Eventually, the design evolved into a format called the SVP or Surface Velocity Profiler, using the "Holey Sock" drogue format. This general format became a standard in 1986 and, once established, other manufacturers were invited to participate in reproducing, the now accepted, SVP. This initial iteration spawned continuing development and improvement of the (SVP) drifters eventually leading to a smaller version called the "MINI SVP. Documentation shows that for the first four years of SVP development, Technocean. Inc. was the sole commercial entity involved in the process. Over subsequent years many improvements to the original SVP and Mini SVP have been made by multiple commercial sources.