Input/Output (I/O) has introduced Scorpion, the most recent addition to the portfolio of I/O recording systems. Scorpion builds off the System Four platform that has been in the market since 2002. In keeping with I/O’s focus on full-wave imaging, Scorpion supports multicomponent acquisition with digital, 3-C VectorSeis MEMS-based receivers as well as recording with analog geophone receivers. Scorpion is also built around the easy-to-navigate user interface and operating system upgrade released in July with System Four.

There have been, however, some significant changes to the architecture of the system that aim to improve overall recording productivity, system reliability and channel count scalability. Key enhancements were made to the central recording system. The PC-based central electronics were simplified. For instance, the chassis uses fewer cables, and off-the-shelf, 64-bit motherboards, multicore processors and network and memory cards replace costly, long lead-time, custom-built components. As a result of these and other changes, the central’s footprint is smaller, 60% lighter, more rugged and better able to withstand overheating.


The telemetry system has been upgraded to incorporate the latest transmission and switching technologies. Scorpion employs four Ethernet, 1-gigabit backbones that enable the platform to handle extremely high station-count surveys, high sampling rates and complex Vibroseis sweep schemes. The ground electronics for the analog version of Scorpion have also been reworked to incorporate simplified, off-the-shelf chip sets that are inherently more reliable.


In addition, the System Four operating system software has been recompiled in LINUX. While improving overall system stability and uptime, this change also opens up a broader set of development and debugging tools that will be able to continuously enhance system functionality and performance as subsequent software updates are released. More importantly, Scorpion is backwards-compatible with the analog and digital ground electronics of the predecessor System Four platform.