US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

John M Gravley

Brian S Bourgeois

Andrew B Martinez

Jami J Cheramie

Peter J Alleman

The autonomous survey system (AutoSurvey) is used to automatically maximize area coverage with swath sensors and to minimize survey time while ensuring the collected data meets specified quality constraints. The autonomous survey system (AutoSurvey) evaluates the effects of the environment and system performance on the collected survey data by modulizing the data collection into a series of modules&mdash;data collection and error detection, data georectification, data quality validation, swath-edge fit, next-line way point generation, and the autopilot. All of these processes are implemented in near real-time, allowing unfettered survey progress. The data is applied directly between processes, providing operator independent system operation; the autosurvey system directly controls the survey vessel via the autopilot. Through the real-time data acquisition the system provides automation of the operator quality and coverage assessment tasks and also provides quantified data assessment. The operator is able to adjust the system operating parameters to compensate for ambient conditions and to determine subsequent navigation way points as a function of the specified survey criteria.

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Lafayette, LA, United States of America

John M Gravley