About Thurn Group

Building on decades of experience in hydrometric survey equipment, Thurn Group are innovators and disruptors working on the cutting-edge of technology development and integration. Specialising in remote and autonomous survey vessels including remote boats (USVs) and aerial drones (UAVs), Thurn deliver bespoke sensing solutions for hydrometry, hydrology, bathymetry and aquatic ecology workflows in freshwater and marine environments in the UK, Europe and Worldwide.

Thomas Hiller Chartered Engineer and Physicist

Dr. Thomas Hiller CEng CPhys FInstP MIfSE

Founder, Director, and head of Systems and Strategy at Thurn, Tom is a Chartered Engineer (Engineering Council registration #573437) and Chartered Physicist (IoP #62506) with over 20 years' experience working with water based sensing and survey technologies.

Examples of Our Work

Evaluating a New Sonar System on a Survey-Class AUV:

We asked Thurn to assist with testing a sub-bottom capability on the Gaiva AUV. The project really benefitted from Tom’s experience integrating sonar systems into Gavia modules and his in-depth general knowledge of sonar applications and industry practice.
Arnar Steingrimsson, Global Head of Sales - AUVs, Teledyne Marine.

Sonar Development and Market Investigation at an Equipment Manufacturer:

We contracted Tom to work on several projects at GeoAcoustics. He provided valuable input on high-end sonar developments and also helped with regional marketing efforts.
Bill Hone, Commercial Manager, Kongsberg GeoAcoustics, UK

Sonar Data Processing and Analysis for a Decommissioning Project:

Tom helped with data processing for a southern North Sea decommissioning project. His deep knowledge of the sonar operation, processing software and sonar physics helped make this project an outstanding success.
Bo Krogh of Bo Krogh ApS, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.

Training and Installation Assistance for a Port's New Survey Vessel:

At the Hydrographic Department, Peel Ports Medway, we commissioned Thurn’s services to assist in setting up a new high resolution swath sonar capability. The hands-on training helped us to understand how this system was put together and to fine tune the GeoSwathPlus mobilisation method in order to ensure the best quality of the acquired bathymetric data. Tom's expertise and his great deal of experience in interferometric sonar technology proved vital in identifying and successfully tackling the electromagnetic noise sources within the Survey Vessel. His in-depth knowledge of the Geoswath Plus algorithms brought a lot of clarity and boosted efficiency in our post-processing. As a result - the whole new system could serve us at its full capacity very quickly.
Tom O. – former Hydrographic Surveyor, Peel Ports Medway