Page 42: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2013)

In the Field Almost two years after we Þ rst reported on an inno- vative, depth sounding recorder device that made wide swaths of data available to perhaps anyone who wants it, the concept envisioned by ARGUS has developed into a viable tool that could change the way government agencies schedule surveys and dredging. Beyond that, the resource represents a valuable asset for commercial and pleasure mariners alike who, if they so choose, can Òtake advantage of the depth sounder on the boat in front of them.Ó How it Works Today, about 40 boats have voluntarily placed on board their vessels the ARGUS (Autonomous Remote Global Underwa- ter Surveillance) system transmitters. ARGUS is designed to universally interface with a vesselÕs existing navigation equip- ment and autonomously deliver water depths seen by the ves- sel to a central server. In April, SURVICE and the ARGUS inventors, John and William Hersey, received from the U.S. Patent and Trademark OfÞ ce a patent for the ARGUS system. SURVICE, the parent company of the ARGUS effort, pro- vides service to the Department of Defense, among others, performing survivability testing, simulation and modeling. According to John Hersey, the ARGUS service is a natural outgrowth of that business. ARGUS, in operation and Þ eld testing since 2010, automates the acquisition and processing of depth, environmental and meteorological data from coastal and inland waterways and provide the data to Government, commercial, academic and other interested organizations. The autonomous onboard system (without the need for any crew intervention) continuously processes and transmits GPS position and single-beam sonar data from a growing network of commercial and recreational mobile marine platforms to supplement nautical charts, many of which have become out- dated and inaccurate. SURVICE characterizes the patented system as Òcrowd- sourcedÓ bathymetry (CSB), perhaps akin to the efforts being put forward by disaster Þ rst responders who hope to better harness the power of social media outlets. This innovative approach to data collection, however, leverages existing in- frastructure and a potentially unlimited workforce. The cost- sharing of data products results in low-cost bathymetry and other data and utilities that are valuable to many different in- terests. Since 2010, ARGUS has acquired more than 100 mil- lion soundings from a distributed ß eet of vessels navigating U.S. and international waters. Signals can be transmitted via WiFi or SATCOM and can be viewed in Òreal time,Ó if desired. Each dot on a typical ARGUS solution depiction represents at least 140 soundings. Those soundings, initially reported without input for the state of the tide or other variables, are corrected automatically after transmission and before posting.Unlimited Potential Backend processing of the data from all participating vessels is used to provide the latest condition reports back to the ves- sels to optimize route planning and navigation safety, and in the case of the inland waterways, could be used to optimize barge loading based on the current depth conditions. The sys- tem can contribute to the CorpsÕ mission at a minimum as a reconnaissance tool, highlighting for them areas that require expenditure of their resources vs. those that do not. ARGUS is a self-enabling technology for the inland waterways industry, providing condition reports at a fraction of the cost and at a speed many times faster than what it takes the Corps to pro- vide updates to the waterway charts. In early June of 2013, a demonstration was conducted in co- ordination with the Port of Pittsburgh CommissionÕs (PPC) ARGUS Enviable Technology, Unlimited Potential System is designed to universally interface with a vessel?s existing navigation equip- ment and autonomously deliver water depths seen by the vessel to a central server. Almost four years and 100 million soundings later, the concept is a reality. By Joseph Keefe October 201342 MTRMTR #8 (34-49).indd 42MTR #8 (34-49).indd 4210/16/2013 2:20:12 PM10/16/2013 2:20:12 PM