A Critical Review of Automated Hydrography within the Canadian Hydrographic Service

Since the late nineteen sixties, the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) has been actively pursuing the goal of acquiring and processing bathymetric data in digital form. During this period there have been major advances in digital technology and to a large extent the CHS has been able to take advantage of this evolving technology. Over the years a core of computer-oriented hydrographers and hydrography-oriented technical personnel has been developed and we have enjoyed patient and supportive managers with whom new ideas and techniques could be openly and critically discussed. Numerous problems have been encountered - some have been overcome while others remain to be solved. In the main, however, reliable digital data acquisition and processing in the field at a reasonable cost is feasible. The means to convert graphical data such as shoreline and foreshore features into digital form is also in place so that we are finally in a position to start building a digital data base from which nautical charts may be produced

INDAPS, Integrated Navigation, Data Acquisition and Processing System

In 1974, the Hydrographic Development Group, Central Region, undertook the design and implementation of a second-generation hydrographic data acquisition and processing system. This system, INDAPS, which has been employed in two production surveys during 1974 and 1975, features computer-controlled acquisition, filtering and recording of data, on-line navigation and error detection, and high-speed processing using FORTRAN as a programming language. This paper outlines the philosophy behind the system, its evolution and current development, and its field implementation