Engineering Hydrographic Surveys

A Collaboration between The Coastal Sediments, Hydrodynamics and Engineering Laboratory (CSHEL) at the University of Delaware and The Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM) at the University of New Hampshire with support from Teledyne-Gavia, Substructure, Inc., and QPS.

INTRODUCTION

AUV Bootcamp is a focused, pressure-cooker type event in which new methods of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) operations, data collection, processing and display are developed and made operational. It is an event for AUV operators, commercial software developers, engineers, researchers and graduate students to directly interact, in a small group environment, both in the field and ashore. AUV Bootcamp provides a means to try new things, make mistakes in a controlled manner and learn how to operate and process data from an AUV.

The mission of AUV Bootcamp 2012 is focused on the operational methods of AUVs to collect bathymetric data for the purposes of nautical charting and the data processing techniques required to create hydrographic quality survey products. Among the areas under consideration are:

• Operational methods optimized for hydrographic surveys, including survey efficiency and cross-checks.
• Minimization and quantification of navigation uncertainty. Items for consideration include developing a workflow for Real-Time Kinematic or Post Processed Kinematic GPS solutions to constrain surface navigation of an AUV, use of seafloor or buoy-based relative or absolute navigation aids imaged in sonar or camera or other sensors, and use of seafloor bathymetry itself for relative survey corrections.
• Assessment of the impact of surface swell on a shallow water survey and methods to mitigate the effect on the bathymetry.
• Generation of an uncertainty model for bathymetric data collected from an AUV.
• Complete workup of bathymetric data suitable for submission to NOAA.
• Exploration of other methods of processing Geoswath data including the MPAA algorithm for pre-processing followed by Caris, OIC, FM, MB-System or other tools.

WHEN

Aug 19-24th (Sunday – Friday)

LOCATION AND FACILITIES

AUV Hydrographic Bootcamp 2012 will be held at the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Marine Laboratory and associated marine facilities in New Castle, NH. Field work will occur in the vicinity of the mouth of Portsmouth Harbor and just off shore. The UNH Pier and Marine Facility offers the support of a large pier and floating dock with power and wifi to provide a nice working environment.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Sunday:
AUV Bootcamp 2012 officially begins. Participant introductions, introduction to the Gavia AUV and associated systems. Overview of this schedule and general plan for the week with amendments as the group desires and other boundaries require. Discussion of data processing flow. Access to preliminary data set collected Friday. Planning of field day 1.

Monday:
Field Day 1: First day of AUV survey. Estimate 2 surveys, each 3 hours in length with battery swap in between. UTEC batteries may be available for additional operations if required/desired. Field team will likely consist of 3-5 people. Those not in the field will have the preliminary data set to work on and general discussion of methods to consider.

Tuesday:
Data processing day. Full workup of Field Day 1 data, with revisions. Any dock-side testing. Planning for Field Day 2.

Wednesday:
Field Day 2: Estimate 2 surveys, each 3 hours in length with battery swap in between. Continued processing of Field Day 1.

Thursday:
Field Day 3: Half day in the field.

Friday:
Data processing day and discussion. Wrapup.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Send an email to Val Schmidt (vschmidt@ccom.unh.edu) and/or Art Trembanis (art@udel.edu). Let them know you’re interested and ask them questions about what to expect. They will be making additional information available regarding the event location and other details soon.