Sonar Viewer
The Sonar Viewer is the main data review and editing tool in MarineBenchVue. It provides a multi-panel interface for replaying, correcting, and exporting sonar survey data.
Main Interface
The Sonar Viewer interface has the following panels:
| Panel | Description |
|---|---|
| Menu Bar | File, Setting, and Help menus |
| Toolbar | Quick-access buttons for editing operations |
| Trajectory Window | Map view of the survey track |
| Sonar Window | Waterfall display of sonar returns |
| Status Bar | GPS status and current frame information |
| Color Palette | Depth color scheme controls |
Menu Bar
The Menu Bar contains three menus: File, Setting, and Help.
File
Open
The Open menu allows you to select 60–100 *.tsl3 files at once (hold the Shift key to multi-select). The exact number of files that can be opened depends on your computer's memory configuration.
Sample Data After Installation
After the software is installed, sample *.tsl3 recording files are located in the default folder ..\ToslonMarineBenchVue\data. These files contain example data. You may open one of them to become familiar with the software's operation.
Save As
After editing a data file, you can save it separately as a *.tsl3 file, preserving the original data. You may also choose to export the track as a *.kml file, which can be opened in Google Earth for viewing the test trajectory on a map.
Import KML
Import pre-prepared KML files into the system.
Export as Data
After editing a data file, you can choose to export it in the following formats:
File Format
| Format | Description |
|---|---|
| CSV | Universal comma-separated values file |
| BLH (HGO) | BLH (HGO) text format |
| CAD (CASS) | Format compatible with CAD (CASS) plugins |
Note: The exported GPS BLH data can be converted or projected using the T-Converter coordinate transformation tool.
GPS Coordinate Format
Select the coordinate format required for data processing. Four options are available.
Valid When GPS
Choose to export data only when the GPS status is: All / Single / DGPS / RTK FLOAT / RTK Fixed Solutions.
Sampling
Set the interval for extracting data points. Distance interval and Time interval can be used. If selecting "Output All", then all data will be output.
Depth Output Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Unit | Set the depth unit: Meters (M) or Feet (Ft) |
| Sound Speed | Set the actual sound-speed parameter. Should match the configuration file on the SD card of the echo sounder |
| Draft | Set the actual draft parameter. Should match the configuration file on the SD card of the echo sounder. Default for TheDuck™ USV is 0.08 m |
- If "Update Depth" is not selected, the depth in the exported file remains the raw depth output from the echo sounder.
- The settings here are intended for correction only when the echo sounder parameter settings are incorrect. If "Update Depth" is selected, the exported depth data will be converted proportionally based on the ratio between the sound speed set here and the echo sounder's sound-speed setting.
Water Surface Attitude Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| RTK Altitude — Height from Antenna to Water Surface | Set the height of the RTK antenna above the water surface |
| Tidal Difference | Import a tidal correction data file. For the required file format, refer to the template in the ToslonMarineBenchVue\dat directory |
| Fixed Water Level | Set a fixed water level value when tidal data is not available |
Output Name
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| By Time | Name exported files by timestamp |
| By Number | Name exported files by sequence number |
Setting
Load Color Scheme
Load a predefined or custom color scheme for the depth display. Tersus provides several preset color schemes.
Track Style
Configure the visual style of the survey track in the Trajectory window, including color, width, and display options for points and lines.
Help
Access product version information and contact details for Tersus support.
Trajectory Window
The Trajectory window displays the GPS track of the survey vessel overlaid on a map. You can:
- Pan and zoom the map
- Click on track points to jump to the corresponding frame in the Sonar window
- Toggle track color by depth value
Toolbar
The Toolbar provides quick access to the most common editing operations:
| Button | Function |
|---|---|
| Play / Pause | Start or pause data replay |
| Frame navigation | Step forward or backward through frames |
| Mark frame | Flag a frame for review or removal |
| Batch correct depth | Open the batch depth correction dialog |
| Zoom In / Out | Adjust the sonar window zoom level |
| Delete selection | Remove selected frames from the dataset |
Batch Depth Correction
The batch correct depth function allows you to apply a uniform depth offset or scaling factor to a selected range of frames. Use this to correct systematic errors in draft or sound speed settings applied during collection.
Sonar Window
The Sonar window displays the sonar data as a waterfall image. The horizontal axis represents time (frames), and the vertical axis represents depth. The color of each pixel indicates the sonar return intensity at that depth.
- Click on any point to read the depth value
- Use the toolbar to zoom or filter the depth range
- The bottom line is automatically detected and can be manually adjusted
Status Bar
The Status Bar at the bottom of the screen shows:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| GPS Status | Current GPS fix type (Single, DGPS, RTK Float, RTK Fixed) |
| Current Frame | Frame number and timestamp |
| Latitude / Longitude | Current GPS position |
| Depth | Current bottom depth |
Export File Header Descriptions
When exporting data to CSV format, the output file contains the following columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Time | UTC timestamp of the record |
| Latitude | WGS84 latitude in decimal degrees |
| Longitude | WGS84 longitude in decimal degrees |
| Altitude | Ellipsoidal height from RTK (metres) |
| Depth | Water depth after correction (metres or feet) |
| WaterSurfaceAltitude | Computed water surface elevation |
| GPSQuality | GPS fix quality indicator |
| SoundSpeed | Sound speed used for depth calculation |
| Draft | Transducer draft value used |