Patent ID: 6338023
Filing Date: 2002-01-08
Classification: G01C,G01S

Abstract:
A system for swath surveying that provides a variable swath to automatically accommodate for variable survey environmental conditions, comprising:means for establishing an outer perimeter of an area to be surveyed; means for establishing a first survey track of a plurality of survey tracks; means for establishing a survey vehicle's terrestrial position; means for piloting the survey vehicle on said first survey track; means for acquiring swath data along a survey track; means for determining swath data quality and rejecting data that does not meet specified constraints; means for terminating the survey if no swath data is collected; means for storing and displaying swath survey data, survey track, survey perimeter and, in real time, vehicle's terrestrial position data; means for analytic determination of a second and subsequent survey tracks by using the swath data collected from a previous track to adapt said second and subsequent survey tracks to the variable current environmental conditions of the survey; means for piloting the survey vehicle on the second and subsequent survey tracks; means for terminating the survey upon completion of said second and subsequent survey tracks; and means for displaying the survey results.