DVocean Digital. A simulation prototype for hydrographic 3D measurements using multibeam echo sounder

The (practical) training of hydrography students in the Master’s degree programme in Geodesy and Geoinformatics is an important and challenging task for HafenCity University (HCU) Hamburg, as graduates will continue to be urgently needed for surveying the world’s oceans and inland waters in the future. Since the ship capacities for students training in hydrography in the Geodesy and Geoinformatics study programme are limited in terms of time and space, an interactive 3D application was developed to simulate hydrographic measurements in the Port of Hamburg. This article describes the development of the application for the simulation of hydrographic 3D measurements using a multibeam echo sounder (MBES) in combination with GNSS/IMU positioning sensors integrated in the virtual 3D model of the surveying vessel DVocean of HCU Hamburg.