Qloud, the latest software offering from QPS, is just such an offine tool that is fully integrated with QINSy, the online acquisition software, but also available as a stand-alone package. Handling extremely large datasets, it performs statistically-based data cleaning using parameters such as Total Propagated Error (TPE), IHO S-44 guidelines, in the CUBE algorithms (UNH), and in the Least Square Statistical Spline Method. Qloud imports DTM points from QINSy QPD fles, (includes multiple data attribute fags generated in QINSy), or from any third party point fles, with or without attributes and metadata. The moment the data is loaded into Qloud, the survey is viewed as a single cloud of data points, presented in the full geographical context of ENCs and GeoTIFF imagery.
Automatic data cleaning tools using Clips, Area Spline flters and CUBE, are applied to the entire survey at once, or sequentially to selected sections. Where centre and outer beams overlap, TPE values are used to correctly weight each data point. A full complement of manual editing tools is also available. Whether the data is viewed as individual soundings, or as gridded data, is the user’s choice, often dictated by the deliverable. For example, viewing every last individual sounding is wasted effort if the deliverable is a single mean sounding per grid cell. Flexible viewing options allow, for example, presentation of the SD attribute of a gridded dataset in one pane, and the 3D points cloud in another pane. By pinpointing bad SD values, the spotlight is quickly directed in the points cloud for more focused analysis.
