New analysis variables to describe the shape of aggregations such as fish schools will be available in Echoview 15: corrected elongation, fractal dimension, rectangularity, plus two unevenness equations.
Previously, these metrics could be derived from school detection analysis variables that are already exported from Echoview, but we’ve built in the equations to enable their use in region classification.
Region classification rules can be configured to enable easy and automatic labeling of school regions based on their shape, size, and scattering properties.
Using and exporting these new analysis variables requires the School Detection module to be licensed.
School regions representing biological aggregations can be automatically classified. In this example, they were labeled as one of three classes based on their elongation, i.e. the ratio of the region’s length to thickness.
Bottom classification was first introduced in Echoview 6, providing unsupervised classification of single beam data. This process starts with the calculation of nine metrics derived from the first and second bottom echoes, and we’re making those bottom metrics more accessible by introducing a new virtual variable.
Presenting, the Extract Bottom Feature operator. This allows you to graph roughness, hardness, first bottom length, second bottom length, rise time, depth, maximum Sv, kurtosis, or skewness for a specified interval of pings, distance, or time.
This feature requires a licensed Habitat Classification module. When the Survey Suite module is also licensed, graphs for these metrics can be viewed and updated in real time during live viewing data from a compatible echosounder.
Using the data shown in the echogram (left panel) as input, bottom hardness (top right) and roughness (bottom right) have been visualized using the Extract Bottom Feature operator. The same data can also be classified (middle).
Our final sneak peek for Echoview 15 is the introduction of helpful messaging in virtual variables when they can’t be shown. For example, if you are building a data processing workflow for dB differencing and subtracting echogram values in one frequency from another, the resulting echogram may be blank if the two inputs have different ping geometries. Now, these blank echograms will include a helpful message indicating what the issue is.
Example messages that can be shown for blank echograms.
Echoview 15 will be available for beta testing very soon and will be officially released in the second half of 2024.
Did you see our previous sneak peeks?
- Support for new file formats and data types
- Helpful new Dataflow capabilities
- Multiple platforms and custom cruise tracks
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