NavAQ

Easy Online!

NavAQ is a user-friendly and versatile online navigation and data acquisition program for Single/Multibeam Echosounders/ Laser Scanners and Sidescan Sonar. Due to its flexible setup it can be used for a wide variety of tasks including:

  • Hydrographic Survey with Single Beam, Multibeam, Laser scanners, Sidescan Sonar.
  • Dredging operation on hoppers, cutters, excavators, grab dredgers etc.
  • Laser scanning with drones and land based vehicles.
  • General positioning calculation/visualization tasks both on- and offshore.
General Features
  • Very Easy to operate, minimum training required.
  • All interfaced sensor messages are logged in its original format into the NavAQ log file (bwxraw) for further processing. This gives the users the extra security that when the real-time results are not satisfactory a full reprocessing including decoding can be done.
  • Positioning and bathymetry results are computed and visualized in real-time and directly stored in the result log file (bwxres).
  • The raw and result files that are generated, seamlessly integrate into our other products AutoClean and AutoPatch.
  • Flexible geodetic coordinate conversion routines are available for most existing Coordinate Reference Systems, including geoid models. Also supports fully user definable transformations and projection and an EPSG database.
  • NavAQ supports an unlimited and unrestricted number of ‘vehicles’ and sensors.
  • Supported System types include Positioning, Attitude sensors, Auxiliary sensors like tide/draft/angle/range etc, USB, SBE/MBE Echosounders, Laser/Lidar Scanners/Sidescan Sonar, Sub-Bottom, USBL, manual layback.
  • NavAQ can calculate the absolute position and attitude of interconnected objects using relative or absolute angle encoders/inclinometers. This is used for excavators but also for a multibeam transducer that is mounted on a pan/tilt unit.
  • Extensive Survey Line Planning module, Cross- and Wingline generation, KP calculation, CAD Import.
  • Advanced display management, dockable views, multi-monitor. Display types include Chart View, 2D and 3D Views, Numerical, Alerts and more. Chart View supports AIS Targets, S-57 ENCs, Cad, TMS (Google Maps), WMTS and more.
  • Easy setup, changes can be made without leaving the program and even while being online.
  • Interfacing of sensor data via TCP/IP server/client, UDP, serial. Drivers are available for most industry-known systems. User definable input and output drivers to support custom ASCII/NMEA strings.
  • Unlimited remote client displays for bridge or super-intendant office.
  • Export of Raw and Result Data to ASCII/XTF/S7K/Raw Dump/GSF/JSF.
Task Specific Details
  • NavAQ interfaces to most multibeam systems available on the market including Kongsberg EM, Teledyne, R2Sonic, Norbit.
  • NavAQ excels in the calculation and presentation of real-time multibeam data. Its calculation engine supports all features of modern multibeam systems including: separate TX/RX locations, full ray-tracing, multi-sector and pitch/roll/yaw steered beams. This ensuring that for every Multibeam Echosounder the most accurate results are available.
  • Easy setup, when systems interface their own position and motion sensors (e.g. Kongsberg EM) it is possible to have a one-cable-solution with only a single device added to the NavAQ configuration.
  • NavAQ also supports interferometric systems like PingDSP, Edgetech 6205, Geoswath, BathySwath to its full resolution. Every sample is treated as a beam, whether it are 300 beams or 6000 beams per ping, NavAQ will calculate the real-time footprints.
  • Presentation of multibeam results and backscatter is done in 2D chart, swath and 3D Point Cloud display.
  • The quality of the multibeam results can be carefully monitored in the displays using grid overlap quality indicators.
  • Full support for multi-detection flags as used by Teledyne, Norbit and Kongsberg.
  • Supports transducers that use a special mounting with pan/tilt units and other rotators.
  • The online created Raw and results files can be further edited and reprocessed in AutoClean.
  • NavAQ supports all industry-known single beam echosounders including Kongsberg EA, Teledyne Odom Echotrac, Echologger, Innomar, CeeScope. Other systems can be interfaced via generic input driver or NMEA messages.
  • Whenever available the full raw backscatter data is decoded and recorded for real-time and post-processing visualisation.
  • The extensive line planning functionality will aid the operator in setting up a survey line plan.
  • When supported by the system, user definable Annotation message can be send from NavAQ.
  • In its simplest form NavAQ can be configured to use just three input strings, one for the position (e.g. GGA), one for the heading (e.g. HDT or VTG) and one for the Depth (e.g. DBT/DPT). But of course a more complex configuration with multiple sensors and alongside a Multibeam echosounder is also possible.
  • The computation of the final footprints can use either the Height of the (RTK) GPS or heave and tide.
  • The online created Raw and results files can be further edited and reprocessed in AutoClean/SBEdit.
  • Export of raw or result data to XTF/S7K/User Definable ASCII.
  • NavAQ supports a large number of laser scanner manufacturers:
    Riegl, Z+F, Velodyne, RoboSense, Sick, Optech Polaris, Carlson Merlin, Livox, Hesai, Ouster.
  • Laser footprints are calculated in real-time, scan rates of 1 million points per second or more are supported.
  • Supports multiple simultaneously operating scanners.
  • Visualization in 3D point cloud display for quality inspection.
  • Co-operative operation of multibeam and laser data.
  • Seamlessly integrates with AutoPatch for calibration of the scanner mounting angles.
  • Fast re-processing of scan data with pos-processing trajectory (e.g. SBET, ASCII) in AutoClean.
  • Export of processed laser points to various formats including Las/LAZ/GSF via AutoClean.

  • Sidescan Sonar online display and recording.
  • Various manufacturers supported: EdgeTech, C-Max, Konsgberg EA400.
  • Geo Locator target picking.
  • Data can be exported to XTF or JSF for 3rd party processing.
  • Sidescan viewer for post-processing data inspection.

NavAQ can be installed on board of hoppers, cutters, excavators and wire cranes for the monitoring of the dredging process. NavAQ’s versatile computation engine calculates the 3D position and attitude of complex chains of objects like suction arms and excavator buckets in real-time. Visualisation is done in various displays including top and side views. The DTM grid model including a design layer is constantly updated to aid the operators. User definable ASCII log files can be used to keep track of the activities.

NavAQ can be used for hydrographic survey with unmanned vehicles. The software can run either directly on board of a local computer or on the operator station (data by radio-link). The NavAQ program is lightweight by nature and can therefore even run on very small single board computers with Windows 10 IOT. For example on board of a Pico-CAT. NavAQ can control the steering of the vehicle with NMEA commands or send an a-priori route plan via a MavLink file.

for more information contact us on support@beamworx.com.