Implementation of Lidar into UKHO Survey ContractsAuthors: Robert Andrew, David Parker
The Hydrographic Society UK, SW Region
& Shallow Survey 2018
Aims of this Presentation
• UKHO history with Lidar surveys
• UKHO Current Survey Programmes
• UKHO current requirements and use of Lidar data
• Data comparison between MBES and Lidar
• Successes
• Challenges
• Conclusions
UKHO History with Lidar Surveys
UKHO have always been keen to make suitable use of lidar where it
provides value for money.
However, UKHO were never convinced by early claims (~2002) of
data meeting IHO Order 1 / 1A requirements.
• MCA / UKHO Trials 2003
• UK Civil Hydrography Programme lidar survey in Scotland 2004
• Chaired IHO working group – Order 1B in 2008
Lidar Trials 2003
MCA and UKHO trial to test feasibility of using lidar and potentially achieving Order 1 requirements.
Plymouth UK – -50 to 25m depth achieved.
2m cube deployed in 18m of water
Cube not detected and least depth not found.
Sound of Harris – UK Civil Hydrography Programme 2004
Validation showed useable data down to ~25m.
Allowed new route for ferry to be selected.
Further multibeam survey showed many small features not detected.
Sound of Harris - 2004
UKHO Chair S44 Working Group
Ambition to create new standard to
allow procurement, use and realistic
description of lidar data.
Order 1B created in 2008 (S-44 v5)
Requirement for 5 x 5m grid – but no
object detection requirement.
UK Chair – Chris Howlett
2016 – International Programmes
• UKHO have funding approved for Commonwealth Marine
Economies Programme and UK Overseas Territories
Programme.
• Requirement to collect hydrographic data for 31 island or coastal
states.
• Acoustic surveys for all areas required would be unaffordable
and take decades to achieve.
• In many cases, lidar would provide the best value for money.
www.gov.uk/guidance/commonwealth-marine-economies-
programme
Commonwealth MarineEconomies ProgrammeEnabling safe and sustainable marine economies across Commonwealth Small Island Developing States
www.gov.uk/guidance/commonwealth-marine-economies-
programme
Secure Future –Seabed Mapping17 April 2018
www.gov.uk/guidance/commonwealth-marine-economies-
programme
CME Activities Across 17 Commonwealth States
Benefits of seabed mapping:
• Safer and more efficient ship navigation
− so bigger and more ships can visit – carrying more goods and passengers
− supporting the development of marine economy, international trade and tourism
− preserving the environment, marine life and resources by reducing risk of maritime incidents
• Better planning and management
− mitigation of climate change, tsunamis, hurricanes, coastal erosion
− providing information for infrastructure development, like ports, jetties, breakwaters, hotels
− used as foundation for creation of marine habitat maps
− using the marine environment more effectively and sustainably
• Meeting their international obligations and commitments
10
www.gov.uk/guidance/commonwealth-marine-economies-
programme
11
Case study - Grenada
The waters in the approaches to the main port, St George’s, were not previously surveyed to modern standards
• In 2016, the cruise terminal handled
− over 200 ships
− over 314,000 passengers
− largest ship was 330 meters long with a draught of 8.3m and 4,300 passengers
− Cruise industry putting pressure on Grenada’s Government to improve charting
• In 2013, the commercial port handled
− over 437,000 tonnes of cargo
− largest ship was 183 meters long with a draught of 8.54m
www.gov.uk/guidance/commonwealth-marine-economies-
programme
12
Survey results
Pre 2018 chart New 2018 chart
Uncharted
shoal
Uncharted
wrecks
Uncharted
obstruction
Uncharted
wreck (7.7m)
www.gov.uk/guidance/commonwealth-marine-economies-
programme
13
Survey results
Seabed mapping identified hazards that could potentially affect shipping when compared to routes followed by ships into St George’s
A new chart has meant that:
• Safer access to ports
• Maximising draft of vessels, therefore efficiency
• Encouraging cruise industry access and growth
• Future development is based on up-to-date information
• Reduced risk of environmental disasters as hazards have been identified therefore:
– Protecting maritime resources
– Preserving marine life
www.gov.uk/guidance/commonwealth-marine-economies-
programme
Large ships have regularly passed close by dangerous wreck
Least depth over wreck = 7.7m
Jewel of the Seas Draught = 8.5m
www.gov.uk/guidance/commonwealth-marine-economies-
programme
CME Programme UKHO Activities
Overseas Territories Seabed Mapping Programme
A constituent part of the Sovereignty, Defence and International Obligations Programme
The main funding source is the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF)
UKHO has been provided funding to assist OTs with ensuring safety of navigation within their waters through its OTs Seabed Mapping Programme which will last for four years (2016-20)
Key linkage with MCA’s work to prepare OTs for the IMO Instruments Implementation Code (IIIC) audits
Overseas Territories Seabed Mapping Programme
The Programme Objective is to reduce the risk (local and UK) of a serious maritime accident
Under the UKHO’s Seabed Mapping Programme we are:
•Assessing the national hydrography framework (legislation and Governance)
•Updating surveys and charting to ensure compliance with international obligations
Using new information collected to assist with maritime boundary delimitation.
As part of capacity building providing equipment and training to develop hydrographic governance and local survey capability.
OTSMP Programme UKHO Activities
Rob Andrew
International Hydrographic Programmes Officer
2016 Expectations and Specs for Lidar
• Up to 60m extinction depths
• Order 1A density down to around 10m
• 3 x 3 soundings per 2m bin required for Order 1A areas –
hopefully down to 10m depth.
• Minimum of 2 unique soundings per 2m bin for Order 1B
areas.
• But no empirical requirement to prove 1A object
detection.
• Part of the UK’s Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme
• Supporting SIDS to make best use of their maritime resources
• Approximately 5800km2 survey area, covering entirety of shallow waters
Grenada / Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Lidar Survey
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - LIDAR
Data acquisition to update nautical charts, facilitate trade
and sustainable infrastructure development, and inform
marine conservation by collecting environmental baseline
data.
Fugro Bathy Lidar System Configuration: 2016
• Used during HI 1530 (St. Vincent and Grenadines) and HI 1535 (Anguilla) projects
• To attain project specification of 2 points in every 2m2 bin (to full depth/Lidar extinction)
• General configuration comprised TWO Optech-Fugro SHOALS systems (nominal 6KHz
pulse rate) and ONE Riegl VQ-820-G topo-bathy system
SHOALS x 2
Laser Pulse Rate 3.0 kHz
Laser Type Pumped diode Nd:YAG
Operating Altitude 300 - 500 m
Laser Classification Frequency-doubled Green
(532 nm) and IR (1052 nm)
Laser Power 3.5 mJ pp
Scanning Mechanism Arc (section)
Receivers Shallow (GAPD), Deep
(PMT), IR and Raman
Integrated Inertial System Applanix POS AV 510 v6
Riegl VQ-820-G
Laser Pulse Rate Up to 520 kHz,
selectable
Laser Type Class 3B
Operating Altitude 400 - 600 m
Laser Classification Green (532 nm)
Laser Power 0.02 mJ pp
Scanning Mechanism Arc (section)
Receivers Green
Density
IHO Order 1b IHO Order 1a<2 Hits/bin
2+ Hits/bin
<9 Hits/bin
9+ Hits/bin
Object Detection
Shoals data examined with overlapping MBES:
• Good correlation in features 6m or greater.
• Some 4m features seen in lidar, but not all.
• None of the 2m features identified in the MBES were present in
the shoals lidar data.
• Very limited overlap of MBES with Riegl data – but object
detection appeared to meet Order 1A Standards
Belize 2017 – LIDAR and MBES Dataset
Acoustic data acquisition of Belize’s main ports and approaches.
Data to be used to update nautical charts of the region, and assist
Belize in meeting its international maritime obligations.
Although not in the scope, Fugro collected Lidar data to
experiment with their new RAMMS system, providing a direct
comparison to the collected MBES data.
Fugro Bathy Lidar System Configuration: 2017 to date
• General configuration comprised new Fugro RAMMS (Rapid Airborne Multibeam Mapping
System) and Riegl VQ-820-G topo-bathy system
RAMMS
Laser Rate 30 Hz @ 900+ obs/pulse
(27Kpps)
Laser Type Class 3B
Operating Altitude 300 - 500 m
Laser Classification Green (532 nm)
Laser Power < 1 mJ pp
Scanning Mechanism Fan Multibeam (no
scanner)
Receivers Green
Integrated Inertial Applanix POS AV 510 v6
Riegl VQ-820-G
Laser Rate Up to 520 kHz,
selectable
Laser Type Class 3B
Operating Altitude 400 - 600 m
Laser Classification Green (532 nm)
Laser Power 0.02 mJ pp
Scanning Mechanism Arc (section)
Receivers Green
Caveats
• Area was effectively used as a test by Fugro, and to support vessel operations.
• The test data was supplied to UKHO free of charge.
• Data was not collected to be the final deliverable, so may not have been optimised in this regard.
• Water clarity was far from optimal in some areas.
Density
IHO Order 1b IHO Order 1a<2 Hits/bin
2+ Hits/bin
<9 Hits/bin
9+ Hits/bin
Does Data Density = Object Detection?
12m Object
16-28.2406N, 088-22.0403W, 9m depth
Measurement LiDAR MBES
Least Depth 9.26 9.28
Height 2.20 2.25
Length 11.75 12.25
Width 7.25 7.75
Lidar MBES
8m Object
16-28.0993N, 088-21.8839W, 10m depth
Measurement LiDAR MBES
Least Depth 11.44 11.51
Height 2.50 2.45
Length 4.80 8.05
Width 2.10 6.10
Lidar MBES
6m Object
16-28.9040 N, 088-21.7516 W, 10m depth
Measurement LiDAR MBES
Least Depth 11.31 11.32
Height 2.50 2.50
Length 6.00 6.75
Width 4.75 6.5
Lidar MBES
Object detection of 4m and smaller objects…
• None of the <4m features identified in the MBES were present in the shoals lidar data in the area of the test.
MBES LIDAR
2m Objects
4m Objects
6m Objects
8m Objects
Despite big improvements in data density, there are significant issues of disproving depths and
features with lidar…
Chart deconfliction is tricky if we can’t trust that the Lidar data has detected all objects.
Charting Comparison Examples
Before and After….
(From SVG and Grenada)
HI1530 Lidar – Admiralty Bay (showing deeper depths)
HI1530 Lidar – St David’s Harbour to Prickly Bay (showing new shoal and rocks)
Aims of this Presentation
• UKHO requirements and use of Lidar data
• Our understanding has increased, and charting utilisation of Lidar data has improved
• Data comparison between older and newer Lidar technology
• Data density has got much better – but need to prove object detection empirically
• Successes
• UKHO are efficiently updating many nautical charts using Lidar surveys
• Challenges
• IHO Order 1a standards – and proving it.
• Disproving depths/features using only Lidar
Conclusion
• Aspirations to meet IHO Order 1a are still not met – density has improved greatly, but object detection is still not comparable to MBES. More to be done.
• Lidar is still an extremely valuable tool for updating charts, and provides value for money in many coastal areas compared with acoustic systems.
• UKHO continue to push the private sector to drive lidar technology forward, and help increase coverage of poorly charted areas.
• Empirical object detection always required until technology proven.
Planned Lidar Surveys -Turks and Caicos Islands
• Survey Area: 7277 km2
• Survey Area: 2379 km2
Planned Lidar Surveys - Belize
• Survey Area: 2016 km2 AW Hydrographic
Planned Lidar Surveys – British Virgin Islands