The Olex M1 is a ruggedised computer controller supplied by Olex pre-loaded with its mapping software so that it no longer needs to be loaded into a PC.

Ole Hestvik of Olex tells FNI: “The Olex M1 controller is more robust on a small boat because there are no moving parts. Also, there is no fan to draw dust through. Instead, it is equipped with cooling fins, so it has to be fitted to let air pass.”

The solid state Olex M1 is able to run 2-D and 3-D pictures on separate screens at once and operates on DC power. It has one gigabyte of RAM and 32 gigabytes of flash storage.

It can store the Olex software and run the entire database of Olex plots. However, in practice, vessels would want to run about four to five gigabytes of local area charts.

The tie-up between Electronic Navigation Ltd. of New Zealand and Olex of Norway to combine the use of the WASSP sidescan sonar system with Olex mapping is bearing fruit.

Seabed maps are now available with remarkable clarity and they can be used by most types of fishing vessels: from trawlers needing to tow gear around obstructions with great accuracy, to wreck fishermen and pot fishermen targeting where they lay their pots.

The combination of WASSP and Olex has recently been introduced into the Alaskan yellowfin sole trawl fishery and

the Canadian purse seine fishery. In addition, the combination has been chosen for fitting on a Canadian research ship.

Ole Hestvik of Olex tells FNI that the company has so far sold 3000 sets of its software, including 180 in Norway last year. Other countries buying the software in good numbers include the UK, Spain and Canada.

Ole Hestvik says: “When I started 11 years ago I thought I would be lucky to sell 500!”

Ole Hestvik, who started as a software designer at age 15, has built up the Olex company to have a staff of six and it remains wholly owned by the family.

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Ruggedised controller holds Olex software