Press Releases
2D/3D visualization software enhances integration and display of complex sensor data
Trondheim, Norway – August 12, 2008 – Marport, a leading subsea acoustics technology company, today announced Version 3.0 of its acclaimed CommandView visualization software at the Nor-Fishing 2008 exhibition.
CommandView V3.0 software is the heart of Marport’s sensor integration and display platform. The scalable architecture integrates all Marport sensors while also supporting interoperability with 3rd party sensors and instruments. This flexibility allows customers to select best-in-class sensors and systems to meet a widerange of operational needs. CommandView collects, integrates and displays real time data from a wide variety of sensors in true client/server architecture. The software literally changes how operators view and interpret complex sensor data.
CommandView screenshot displays real-time movement of trawl doors in 3D. Analog pitch and roll gauges are displayed on the upper left and right. Sounder echograms can also be shown in 3D. The line graphs display net sounder depth as well as door spread distance. Each screen layout can be user-defined and operators can easily toggle from screen to screen.
CommandView V3.0 features rich multimedia elements such as full-spectrum color graphics, 3-D animation and enhanced display capabilities. The software is completely user-configurable. Operators can design different screens to their exact needs while easily switching from screen to screen for monitoring data from sensors, sounders and other shipboard equipment. Digital displays, analog gauges, 3D graphic displays, waterfalls, line graphics, bar graphs, etc. can all be configured exactly to an operator’s requirements. The software also functions as a sensor multiplexer, data logger, and server. It multiplexes data streams from a variety of shipboard sensors onto a TCP/IP network connection. All incoming data can be logged for future playback and analysis.
One very popular feature within CommandView V3.0 is the ability to display the behaviour of trawl doors in near real-time. In September, 2005, Marport commercially introduced a Door Angle Sensor to measure the pitch and roll angle of a trawl door. An inclinometer is used to measure these angles. For many years, inclinometers have been used in a number of acoustic fishing instruments – including headline mounted trawl sonars and net sounders. The idea of using inclinometers to measure the angle of fishing gear has been well known since the 1980’s. In fact, a scientific article published over 20 years ago discloses the use of inclinometers to measure trawl door and net angles. However, prior to CommandView 3D, trawl door angle measurement was displayed as a simple digital numeric or analog type gauge.
CommandView V3.0 supports both 2D and 3D rendering. The 3D trawl door models are animated to reflect changes as they happen and make use of translucent tracers to show past conditions. The software’s advanced object oriented architecture allows easy integration of new 3D models. The 3D trawl door models can be visualized from a variety of view perspectives. All data sets are geo-referenced in the 3D scene. Alpha-transparency techniques allow gauges to be overlaid on top of other gauges while still being able to view the data beneath, allowing the user to make better use of the display space available.
The software uses extensive pixel shading technology to offload complex procedures to the graphics processing chip, which allows CommandView to produce a higher quality display. Sonar data is tessellated in real-time, allowing the user to see netsounder data in a variety of unique ways: as a standard 'transducer aligned' sonar display, as a 'true depth' display, or as a 'waterfall' display. The waterfall sonar display shows a 3D visualization of the sonar data as it happens, allowing the user to more easily identify difficult targets from background noise. The waterfall sonar display makes use of a vertex shader to tessellate the raw sonar data into stunning 3D animations. The waterfall display also supports a 3D A-Scope that displays historical echograms with amplitudes proportional to intensity.
All sensor and instrument data can be recorded and played back in a variety of timeline sequences. The CommandView software client and data files can be used across a wide variety of computer platforms from laptops to large immersive visualization systems. The software also supports adaptive tessellation, a feature that makes 3D models appear smoother when seen up close. Multi-threaded resource handling is also incorporated, making it easier to utilize multi-core processors in the newer generation computers.
CommandView V3.0 provides critical sensor information at a glance. Instead of a random mix of gauges and displays spread around the bridge, CommandView has the ability to show multiple instruments simultaneously on single or multiple displays. This design philosophy keeps operation simple and consistent by enabling the operator to decide how much sensor information to display and when to display it.
The software dramatically improves situational awareness and enhances operations by intuitively presenting sensor data in a comprehensible format. Operators are presented a tactical picture involving shared information from local sensors, enhancing situational awareness over a wider range of operations. Operators can manage the large amounts of available sensor data by a variety of intuitive filtering and display selection tools. These - together with automated network communications - can significantly reduce
operator workload.
About Marport
Marport is a pioneering developer of Software Defined Sonar technology (SDS) technology - an adaptive, future-proof solution for underwater sensing and communications. Marport designs and manufactures advanced SDS solutions for subsea resource exploration and utilization in commercial fisheries, offshore energy, science and military markets. For more information, visit www.marport.com
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For more information about this media release, please contact:
Marport Canada Inc.
Glenda Leyte
Marketing Manager
St. John’s, Newfoundland
+709.757.5757, extension 242
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Note to Editors: Marport and the Marport logo design are registered trademarks of Marport Canada Inc. All other brand, product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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