SBIR Phase I: Project Trident: A Three-Pronged Automated Solution to Satellite Derived Littoral Bathymetry Mapping

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力将是建立全球水深测绘系统的分析框架和软件，该系统以免费获得的卫星图像、三种独立的提取方法和持续的数据收集为基础，为广泛的应用创造地理空间产品。浅水区对世界至关重要--S生态、经济、文化。据估计，世界的70%？S海岸带没有按照现代标准绘制地图，传统的绘制这些区域的方法昂贵且危险，令人望而却步。通过遥感技术，这项创新将以比传统方法低得多的成本为全球浅水地区提供详细的水深数据。这对贫穷、偏远、地势低洼的岛屿尤其重要，这些岛屿的资源稀缺，无法绘制其经济严重依赖的自然环境图。？此外，浅水测深数据对于地理空间情报和准确评估与全球贸易/港口发展、水产养殖、旅游和资源开发有关的项目的可行性和环境影响至关重要。这一创新的成果将为未来的科学分析、变化检测和更好地了解海洋环境提供现代海底地形基线。拟议的项目通过提出三种不同的计算卫星测深的方法，解决了近岸测深图的预算以及健康和安全挑战。这些方法依赖于不同的测量参数进行水深反演，使一种方法的优点克服了另一种方法的缺点。这将创建一种自我验证方法，在一个集成的软件平台中利用先进的遥感算法和持续的数据收集来生成10-30米分辨率的水深测量高程模型。提取方法包括从多幅重叠图像进行水下立体摄影测量，从多光谱图像进行波浪运动检测，以及测量通过水柱的多光谱信号的可变衰减。将开展以下方面的研究：根据大洋和大气参数评估和分配图像的计算机视觉应用；海底光谱分割技术及其对随后的多光谱深度反演的影响；立体摄影测量海底目标识别和关联的自动化；以及海浪运动学得出的深度值与多光谱深度反演值的整合和自动化。对这种综合处理方法产生的数据进行统计分析，对照试验地点的现场数据进行评估，将为准确性报告、算法改进、计算优化提供直接比较，并确定未来全球实施的总体技术和商业可行性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be the establishment of the analytical framework and software for a global bathymetry mapping system based upon freely available satellite imagery, three independent extraction methods, and ongoing data collection to create geospatial products for a wide range of applications.? Shallow water zones are crucial to the world?s ecology, economy, and culture. An estimated 70% of the world?s littoral zone is not mapped to modern standards, and traditional methods of mapping these areas are prohibitively expensive and dangerous. Through remote sensing techniques, this innovation will produce detailed bathymetric data for shallow water areas around the globe at far lower costs than traditional methods. This is particularly significant for impoverished remote, low-lying islands which have scarce resources for mapping the natural environment on which their economies heavily rely. ?Additionally, shallow water bathymetry data is vital to geospatial intelligence and to accurately assessing the feasibility and environmental impact of projects relating to global trade/port development, aquaculture, tourism, and resource development.? The results of this innovation will provide a modern baseline of seabed topography for future scientific analysis, change detection, and greater understanding of the marine environment.The proposed project addresses the budgetary and health and safety challenges of nearshore bathymetry mapping by advancing three distinct methods of calculating satellite derived bathymetry. These methods rely on different parameters of measurement for water depth retrieval, enabling the advantages of one method to overcome the shortcomings of another. This will create a self-validating method for leveraging advanced remote sensing algorithms in an integrated software platform with ongoing data collection to produce 10-30m resolution bathymetry elevation models.? Extraction methods utilize underwater stereophotogrammetry from multiple overlapping images, wave kinematic detection from multispectral imagery, and measurement of variable attenuation of multispectral signals through the water column.? Research will be conducted on computer vision applications for assessing and allocating images based upon metocean and atmospheric parameters; seafloor spectral segmentation techniques and effects on subsequent multispectral depth retrieval; automation of stereophotogrammetric seafloor target identification and correlation, and integration and automation of wave kinematic derived depth values with multispectral depth retrieval values.? Statistical analysis of resulting data from this combined processing method, evaluated against in situ data for trial locations, will provide direct comparisons for accuracy reporting, algorithm refinements, computational optimization, and determine overall technical and commercial feasibility of future global implementation.?This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.