Built-in automatic data cleaning tool clears the way for the future of surveying

Hydrographic surveys are increasingly acquiring more types of data and larger data sets, as well as moving towards real-time processing for remote, over-the-horizon, autonomous operations. Like all NaviSuite software solutions, the capabilities of EIVA’s automatic data cleaning tool, EC-3D, are constantly growing.

This ensures that this tool works optimally for the direction surveys are going, for example by providing...

• Support for more sensor types through 2D, 3D and point cloud data cleaning
• Innovative data cleaning methods – combine them and save as templates
• Real-time data cleaning
• A scalable solution with high-performance calculations for large data sets
• Seamless integration with data processing workflow automation

EC-3D is included free-of-charge in any NaviSuite product where data cleaning is required.

Dive into this article to learn more!

Good sense to support more sensor data – thereby cleaning your future inspections

In addition to cleaning 2D data, EC-3D can clean 3D point clouds. An advantage of cleaning point clouds is that you can clean data acquired with more types of sensors, such as subsea lasers scanners, LiDAR and even cameras – which are becoming more prevalent. For instance, our computer vision solution, VSLAM, can create a point cloud based on as little as a single video feed!

Toolbox customisable for your data

While our previous automatic data cleaning solution drew on only two cleaning methods (distance to surface and density clustering), EC-3D is a user-friendly toolbox that features an ever-growing fleet of different cleaning methods, which can be combined or used sequentially – ensuring you can find the right cleaning method(s) for your specific data set.

You can use the data cleaning tools in configurations that fit your project’s needs exactly – and save the configuration as a template for use again later.

Processing more data, faster

When the EIVA team was designing EC-3D, a major motivator was to optimise the tool to provide real-time data cleaning of large data sets. To achieve this, EC-3D utilises your computer’s resources optimally with high performance calculations.

The software tool uses memory-based data exchange, resulting in fast performance and real-time data cleaning capabilities. It also uses GPU for high-performance calculations. The result is that not only is EC-3D able to perform real-time data cleaning, but it is scalable – so that it works just as well with very large data sets.

Toolbox with the latest technological developments

We are constantly updating and upgrading the data cleaning tools in EC-3D – so you get the best data cleaning solution possible!

This can be with new developments, but also by listening to our customers’ feedback, which serves as our compass… For example, in NaviModel 4.6, EIVA’s 3D modelling and visualisation software solution, we released an EC-3D tool that matches components of our former data cleaning solution, S-CAN. This means users who are familiar with S-CAN can feel even more comfortable using EC-3D. In addition, NaviSuite still supports manual and semi-automated data cleaning methods, like S-CAN, as these can be highly effective for cleaning regular surfaces.

Updates to EC-3D bring brand new capabilities drawing on the latest technological developments. EIVA is involved in many development projects, and in one, we developed a new data cleaning method ideal for autonomous surveys: DBSCAN. You can learn about this method in an article summing up some of our developments towards autonomous hydrographic surveys.

Real-time automated data cleaning making autonomous operations come true

EC-3D can also be used in automated workflows to enable autonomous operations – with Workflow Manager, EIVA’s tool for workflow automation. This also means onboard processing, including data cleaning, is possible with an autopilot onboard USV and onboard computer onboard AUV.

The tide is rising for autonomous operations due to their low-carbon and cost-effective nature – it carries with it the development of software building blocks like data cleaning tools… To enable autonomous operations, operators must be able to clean very large data sets in real time. This lets vessels immediately use the cleaned data – for example for navigation-aiding or retasking based on findings in the data.

Sound familiar? That’s because these are the things EC-3D thrives at. Through developmental projects, EIVA has made sure that our data cleaning tool has the capabilities it needs in order to clean the way for the autonomous surveys of the future.