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The new naval perspective in mine countermeasures with autonomous “systems of systems” operating at a large stand-off range from the mother platform, requires fast, interoperable and integrable data management. Nowadays, information is mostly collected and organized in databases that respond to the required system applications. Every system application has its own data model in which the data is encased. However, with this approach, termed application-centric, data interpolation and data integrability require a huge effort.
Within this project, a new concept for data management will be exploited. A data-centric architecture will be implemented. It will be applied to data collected for the fast seafloor characterization of the economic zone of the Belgian Continental Shelf for coastal and harbour protection. Using a data-centric implementation, an improved approach for mine burial assessment will be developed, considering not only the sediment composition but also the geotechnical response of the sea bottom and discriminating the results versus potential sea mines typology. For this part, methods of Machine Learning (ML) will be employed.
The project focuses on two main objectives:
- Perform a fast and reliable seabed characterization on soft sediments, by implementing novel techniques for naval coastal and harbour protection,
- Implement and explore the feasibility of a data centric architecture to collocate and interrogate suitable real time information for decision support.
The main idea is to facilitate data interoperability and data integration considering the future maritime mine countermeasure capabilities being built upon autonomous systems of systems. Such a data-centric architecture is a new approach in data management and it will suit this purpose.
Added to that and with the help of data-centric architecture, maps of the risk of mine burial along the Belgian coast will be computed, by applying machine learning (ML) methods to a ‘data-lake’ collection.
To perform a fast and reliable seabed characterization, two different free fall penetrometers will be used and their performances and measurements will be described against the NATO arm-thrust test measures commonly in use. The advantage of the use of a free fall penetrometer is to have the possibility to be used without risk to personnel in minefields, eventually in automatic mode, and being not constrained by tide dynamics.
This study is a triple-helix project carried out in collaboration with dotOcean (BE Industry) and with the University of Colorado Boulder (CU, USA).
Royal Higher Institute for Defence
with support from dotOcean, the University of Colorado Boulder and the Belgian Navy
2022 – 2026
0.4 M€
Project Publications
2025
- S. Papili, “The Urgent call on data management: are we capable to store valuable (meta)data for naval application?," in UACE2025. 8th Underwater Acoustics Conference and Exhibition. Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 680P.
[BibTeX] [Download PDF]@inproceedings{UACE2025Proceedings, author = {Sonia Papili}, title = {{The Urgent call on data management: are we capable to store valuable (meta)data for naval application?}}, volume = {}, booktitle = {UACE2025. 8th Underwater Acoustics Conference and Exhibition. Conference Proceedings}, editor = {Michael I. Taroudakis}, organization = {Underwater Acoustics conference & exhibition series}, publisher = {FORTH}, pages = {680P}, keywords = {data model, historical information, descriptive data, descriptive information}, year = {2025}, ISSN = {2408-0195}, URL = {https://www.uaconferences.org/proceedings/proceedings-2025}, unit= {meca-ras}, project= {DISCIMBA} }
2024
- S. Papili, A. Penko, K. Becker, and T. Weber, “TH43A – Biogeochemical Interactions Impacting Seafloor Properties and Dynamics." 2024.
[BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]
This Town Hall focuses on cultivating collaborations between biologists, chemists, geologists, and oceanographers to understand the nonlinear, interdisciplinary processes occurring on the ocean{textquoteright}s seafloor. Biological, chemical, geological, and physical processes modify the properties, composition, and texture of the seabed, adding complexity and heterogeneity. The interactions of these processes over a range of temporal and spatial scales can cause anomalies in the prediction of geotechnical, physical, and acoustic responses. Due to their interconnectivity, we hypothesize that fundamental knowledge gaps of the feedback between biogeochemical processes on and within the seabed can be elucidated through a holistic approach to understanding the seafloor system. To address the interdisciplinarity of seafloor dynamics, we invite all scientists who study the ocean{textquoteright}s seafloor to aid in outlining the dominant processes, state-of-the-art modeling capabilities, and gaps in knowledge through a panel and group discussion. The outcome will help guide future research and aid in multidisciplinary collaborations.
@conference{c22ee9b7610d4295990ced933cb0f33e, title = "TH43A - Biogeochemical Interactions Impacting Seafloor Properties and Dynamics", abstract = "This Town Hall focuses on cultivating collaborations between biologists, chemists, geologists, and oceanographers to understand the nonlinear, interdisciplinary processes occurring on the ocean{textquoteright}s seafloor. Biological, chemical, geological, and physical processes modify the properties, composition, and texture of the seabed, adding complexity and heterogeneity. The interactions of these processes over a range of temporal and spatial scales can cause anomalies in the prediction of geotechnical, physical, and acoustic responses. Due to their interconnectivity, we hypothesize that fundamental knowledge gaps of the feedback between biogeochemical processes on and within the seabed can be elucidated through a holistic approach to understanding the seafloor system. To address the interdisciplinarity of seafloor dynamics, we invite all scientists who study the ocean{textquoteright}s seafloor to aid in outlining the dominant processes, state-of-the-art modeling capabilities, and gaps in knowledge through a panel and group discussion. The outcome will help guide future research and aid in multidisciplinary collaborations.", author = "Sonia Papili and Allison Penko and Kyle Becker and Tom Weber", year = "2024", month = feb, day = "18", language = "English", note = "Ocean Science Meeting 2024, OSM24 ; Conference date: 18-02-2024 Through 23-02-2024", url = "https://agu.confex.com/agu/OSM24/prelim.cgi/Home/0", unit= {meca-ras}, project= {DISCIMBA} }