DIDSON™ SOFTWARE
DIDSON has user friendly software to get the sonar imaging work done.
Topside display and control software comes with all of our DIDSONs. The software runs on Windows and allows a laptop to be the control and display console. A number of software features enhance the operation of DIDSON for specific applications.
The software has many more features than we can explain here. DIDSON purchasers have obtained free upgrades to the latest version of software at no additional cost.
The toolbar has a number of control features. One way to record a file is to click on the red button. Files are played back using the folder icon to find the file, the sideways arrows to quickly move through files within a folder, and the playback icons to play the file forwards, backwards, pause, or loop it. The icons on the far right allow one to subtract the static background from the image, apply the autofish count algorithm, enhance imaging moving objects, apply transmission loss, and generate an advanced echogram.
DIDSON records video-quality data and thus can require a lot of disk space (1.8 gigabytes/hour). As a result many features have been developed to allow one to record only the data of importance. In Alaska where fish are counted in the thousands per hour, the timer mode allows the DIDSON to count fish in samples of time at different frequencies and ranges within each hour, or day. The sonar can be left unattended while it collects data in preset patterns and times. Some rivers and streams in other states may have a very small run – maybe a 1000 fish in a two-month period. In this case DIDSON can implement a motion detection algorithm and record data only while a fish or a fish-sized object passes through its field of view. This saves gigabytes of recorded data and makes final processing and counting much, much easier.
The clustergram graphically indicates the presence of moving objects that exceed certain intensity and size parameters. It allows analysts to sift through days of data at a rate of 800 frames/s (200 times real-time if data are collected at 4 frames/s). The fat long mark at left, indicates the presence of a large fish among a number of smaller fish. The analyst can draw a box around the mark and get a “tape loop” of the source DIDSON data for verification and sizing.
An optional feature allows three dimensional presentations of DIDSON data. A 1° concentrator lens mounted on the standard DIDSON provides 96 beams, each 0.3° horizontal by 1° vertical. As the DIDSON pans or translates through the field of interest, it collects data that can be presented in 3D format during the collection. One can obtain precise measurements within the work area and use the data as input to sophisticated modeling software.