Qimera Production Line Processing
This method is used where full processing capability is required for multiple users but the final result needs to be checked and final products created from it. Production line cleaning merges multiple Qimera projects into one single project where data cleaning and QC can be performed. This is done by importing the QPD results from the processing projects into a new and final project where the results are staged for delivery. The graphic below explains the basic workflow concepts.
Benefits of Production Line Processing:
- For a Hydrographic office, a hydrographic survey can be portioned up among the bathymetry appraisal team for full validation by each person, and then pulled together following collective validation for final QC and chart production requirements.
- For Pipeline and cable surveys where the data can be divided into an alignment sheet per data processor. All of the separate projects can be brought together into one for the senior data processor to QC the data and create the final product.
- Processing can be divided offshore into one processor per day. The mathematical processing is done in the daily project, and is limited to the data and ancillary information for that single day only. This reduces the complexity of managing several tens or hundreds of additional ancillary files that can accrue over the span of a project. The daily processing project only needs the ancillary data for that day, making this experience far less prone to error.
- All merging operations are performed by the software, as opposed to manually by humans, therein eliminating error.
The series of images below show two separate sets of data being processed to get from raw sensor data to georeferenced soundings. The third image shows the QPD results from the first two small projects being merged into an assembly project, with the Slice Editor being used to verify the line up between the two different data sets. It's important to note that the QPDs are shared between the processing project and the main project; it is up to the user to ensure that you do not attempt to write to QPDs at the same time. The workflows for which this is meant to be used largely protect against this since data should not be submitted for inclusion in the master project until the mathematical processing is done. Specifically, when the mathematical processing project is done and is closed. The main processor then pulls the data into the main project with the understanding that the mathematical processing project will not be re-opened unless the surveyor is directed to do so, which would only be necessary should problems arise. Human coordination is essential in orchestrating this process, and avoids complex resource locking schemes in other software packages which will sometimes lock users out of their data. Humans are superior to machines in coordinating, and the functionality of this process performs optimally via human coordination and working together.
