Hydrographic Survey Planning Using a Geospatial Approach

摘要

This paper introduces an approach to hydrographic survey planning that utilizes geospatial concepts to determine the most practical and efficient estimations for a given survey area using both surface vessels and unmanned underwater vessels (UUV). Proper planning methods are essential to the success of a mission because they allow proper scheduling of vessel time, manpower, and resources required to achieve mission goals. The Hydrographic Mission Planner (HMP) is the geospatial component for this planning method and was developed using the Commercial Joint Mapping Toolkit (CJMTK). The CJMTK is a collaborative effort between the National Geospatial-lntelligence Agency (NGA) and Northrop Grumman IT TASC to provide geospatial capabilities through Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) software. The Hydrographic Mission Planner (HMP) allows its users to visually interact with a variety of environmental data and physical variables that dictate proper survey procedures and equipment. These data and variables are used to drive a simulation that generates a series of track lines representing the best estimated path through a survey area. Time and distance calculations are derived from the simulation, and the results will vary with any modification to the survey parameters. This makes it possible to run a series of surveys that uses different methods of running lines, different vessel parameters, and different sensor settings to provide a comparison of multiple survey scenarios. This comparison can be used to determine which configuration provides the most appropriate survey estimations to use when scheduling for the actual survey in order to minimize survey cost.