echoview

Echoview and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill

Posted on Wednesday, 1 December 2010 | Permalink

Echoview has seen use in recent months in the Gulf of Mexico, with scientists using Echoview as part of their suite of tools for detecting and monitoring the impact of the oil spill.

In July, Echoview senior programmer David Millington joined researchers at sea to provide direct assistance to these efforts.

Contents
1 David Millington joins NOAA scientists aboard the NOAA vessel Pisces
2 NOAA vessel Thomas Jefferson surveys the oil spill

David Millington joins NOAA scientists aboard the NOAA vessel Pisces

In July, Echoview senior programmer David Millington joined NOAA scientists Charles Thompson and Mike Jech on the NOAA vessel Pisces. Amongst other things, David was there to assist in the use of Echoview to visualise and process data from Simrad's ME70 scientific multibeam echosounder.

The vessel visited the site of the Deepwater Horizon while surveying the oil spill. Other acoustic scientists and Echoview users onboard included:

• Dave Demer and Randy Cutter from the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
• Reka Domokos from the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
• Joe Godlewski from the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center
• Todd Kellison from the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center
• Sarah Stienessen from the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center
• Warren Mitchell from North Carolina State University
• Tom Weber from the University of New Hampshire

Interesting targets detected with the ME70 included a number of whales, the Deepwater Horizon wreck and wellhead, the submerged oil plume from the spill and a number of natural oil seeps.

NOAA vessel Thomas Jefferson surveys the oil spill

Echoview in use aboard the Thomas Jefferson

The Thomas Jefferson sonar survey

On board the Thomas Jefferson

Fisheriesacoustics.com forum update

Posted on Thursday, 11 November 2010 | Permalink

The Hydroacoustics User Forum at www.fisheriesacoustics.com continues to steam along, with conversations on a wide range of topics from people using acoustics worldwide.

Some of the recent topics that have been discussed:

• Acoustics jobs and workshops
• Equipment performance
• Conversion of BioSonics .NME files to ESRI point shapefiles
• GPT and ER60 communication
• Reading EK60 and CSV data in MATLAB
• Recent publications
• Echoview tips and tricks, including scripts written in Python

We encourage you to head on over to the forum and contribute to this growing community!

China national fisheries acoustic conference

Posted on Friday, 5 November 2010 | Permalink

What: China national fisheries acoustic conference

When: 12-15 Nov 2010

Where: South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute

14 Nov 2010, morning

15 Nov 2010, half-morning

New COM scripting tutorial is available for download

Posted on Friday, 22 October 2010 | Permalink

The Echoview Scripting module saves you time by allowing you to automate routine activities in Echoview with scripts. This gives you more time to customize your processing and concentrate on advanced analysis.

To support the Scripting module, we are pleased to release our new tutorial: Introduction to COM scripting. This tutorial looks at Windows' Component Object Model (COM) concepts and provides guidance for using the Echoview COM interface. The tutorial's variety of script examples showcase the how and why of scripting with Echoview.

There are also a number of scripting-related posts on the Hydroacoustics User Forum, including:

• COM scripting with Matlab - getting started
• Matlab scripting - example for exporting to .mat
• Com scripting: Matlab equivalent to VBS keyword "Nothing"

Example scripts can also be found on our Automation via Scripting page.

To download a copy of the COM scripting tutorial, please visit the Tutorials page on the Echoview website. For further assistance with any aspect of scripting in Echoview, please contact support@echoview.com.

DIDSON digest

Posted on Monday, 18 October 2010 | Permalink

The DIDSON DDF datafile format is supported in Echoview, giving you access to Echoview's proven and extensive range of operators for advanced visualisation and data processing. See here for an example of the use of DIDSON and Echoview by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Some recent DIDSON-related web pages that we've found include:

• "Fish counting has gone high-tech on river"
• "Didson crew doing fish movement in shallows and mangroves..."
• "What Alternative Energy Taught Us About the Fish that Live in the East River (New York)"
• Automated acoustic method for counting and sizing farmed fish during transfer using DIDSON (Fisheries Science article)
• DIDSON and offshore wind farms

To find out more about imaging-sonar data processing in Echoview, drop us a line at support@echoview.com.

BlueView and Echoview

Posted on Monday, 18 October 2010 | Permalink

BlueView Technologies Inc. "is the leading provider of miniature multibeam imaging sonar. BlueView delivers acoustic underwater vision solutions using a technology breakthrough that provides high performance imaging sonar capabilities in compact, low power systems. Since delivering the first products in mid 2005, BlueView has been growing rapidly based on its unique product offerings and customer-focused approach."

The BlueView SON datafile format is supported in Echoview, giving you access to Echoview's proven and extensive range of operators for advanced visualisation and data processing.

To find out more about BlueView's activities, check out the news page on the BlueView website.

To find out more about imaging-sonar data processing in Echoview, drop us a line at support@echoview.com.

Echoview training opportunity in Hobart, Australia

Posted on Friday, 15 October 2010 | Permalink

We will be holding a two day training course at the Myriax office in Hobart, Australia in late November or early December.  Confirmation of dates will be announced shortly.  If you are interested in finding out more or would like to register, please contact our Echoview sales team at sales@echoview.com.  Alternatively, you can contact our Technical Sales Manager Myounghee Kang at kang@echoview.com. 

Echoview training opportunity - 3 day workshop January 2011 in Seattle, USA

Posted on Friday, 15 October 2010 | Permalink

We know Echoview users are busy people who need to be efficient and effective with their time, who want to get the most from their acoustic data and who value developing their skills through appropriate training.  We are offering a three day Echoview training workshop with senior Echoview consultant Ian Higginbottom in Seattle from the 27th to the 29th of January 2011.  The workshop will provide value to new users and experienced users alike through a design that covers the essentials of acoustic data processing and also the advanced features of the software.  Past participants of our workshops have spoken highly of the experience and reported significant time savings in their subsequent work.  One experienced user recently discovered a single feature that they had not previously noticed and which they advised had the potential to save them up to two weeks of time over the following year. 

If you have not previously participated in an Echoview workshop, or it has been some time since you have attended a workshop and you want to discover new features and ideas then you will find this workshop value.  The workshop will be useful to users of all brands of scientific echosounders and sonar including Simrad, BioSonics, Didson and Blueview.

The Echoview workshop follows a three day "Hydroacoustic Assessment" workshop run by BioSonics, Inc.  This provides a great opportunity to study acoustic theory and get a hands-on experience at the BioSonics workshop prior to undertaking the Echoview data processing training.

Investments and special discounts

The standard investment for this course is USD2000 per person for three days.  We offer the following discounts which may be combined:

50% discount for students
10% early bird discount if you register and make payment prior to December 10th 2010
10% discount for anyone who is registered in the BioSonics course

Please click here for more information of BioSonics Hydroacoustic Assessment workshop.  To register your interest, please contact Myriax at sales@echoview.com.

We reserve the right to change the presenter or the workshop dates or cancel in the event of unforeseen circumstances.  In this case, we will offer a full refund of the payment received or provide the amount paid as a credit towards a future training course. 

5 jobs at Swansea University, Wales

Posted on Thursday, 14 October 2010 | Permalink

The Department of Pure and Applied Ecology has received funding for 5 new posts: see http://www.swan.ac.uk/personnel/Vacancies/.

The job descriptions are pretty broad, and there is scope for at least one of these positions to go to someone interested in research involving hydroacoustics.

The posts would suit a recent PhD graduate with a good publication record, or someone with a few years postdoc experience.

For further information please contact Dr Ian Horsfall: email I.M.Horsfall@swansea.ac.uk, tel. +44 1792 295456.

The North Pacific Research Board is accepting submisions for funding proposals.

Posted on Wednesday, 13 October 2010 | Permalink

The North Pacific Research Board announces the release of its regular 2011 Request for Proposals (RFP).  Total funds available for the 2011 RFP is $3.55 million.  Please consult the 2011 RFP and the NPRB Science Plan for further details on this year’s research priorities.

Proposals must be submitted online in accordance with instructions in the RFP. Online submission will be available from early November 2010 to December 10, 2010.  The deadline for proposal submission is 4 p.m. (Alaska time), December 10, 2010.

For more information visit our website at: http://www.nprb.org/proposals/current_rfp.html

New example script: Add new data file folder location to all EV files in a folder

Posted on Monday, 11 October 2010 | Permalink

A new example script has been added to our Automation via Scripting page.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 2010

Posted on Monday, 11 October 2010 | Permalink

Accuracy and Precision of Salmon Length Estimates Taken from DIDSON Sonar Images, by Debby L Burwen, Steven J Fleischman and James D Miller.  Click here for the abstract or click here to read the full text.   

A welcome multibeam enhancement for Echoview's demonstration mode

Posted on Wednesday, 6 October 2010 | Permalink

You can now view multibeam, scanning-sonar and imaging-sonar data freely in Echoview’s demonstration mode. The 100 ping viewing limit has been removed, in fact now there is no viewing limit at all!

For multibeam, scanning-sonar and imaging-sonar data, Echoview's demonstration mode allows you to explore and assess many of Echoview’s powerful multibeam processing and analysis features.

Echoview newsletter, September 2010

Posted on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 | Permalink

The September 2010 edition of the Echoview newsletter is now available on the Echoview website.

Click here to read the latest round-up of Echoview and related business.

Myriax enters a new era of management!

Posted on Monday, 27 September 2010 | Permalink

“Nothing endures but change”, Heraclitus wrote in Ancient Greece. If you have been subscribing to Echoview you will have felt the flow of change roughly every quarter with new releases pitched at meeting the needs you express, and growing the software in directions you need.
 
Now, as version 5 of Echoview approaches release, Myriax is entering a new era of management. Founding and managing director Ian Higginbottom is taking some time out to pursue new directions. He hands over sales management to Bernd Wechner (as Sales Manager for Echoview), and business management to Matt Wilson who steps up as General Manager for Myriax. Ian remains with us on a consultancy basis, providing technical expertise and direction as well as ongoing interaction with Echoview users worldwide.
 
Matt and Bernd have been with Echoview since 2002 and are strong drivers for quality and service, both having managed quality assurance in the software development business at Myriax in the past. They look forward to managing the business as a quality enterprise with a continued commitment to serving the community of hydroacoustics users worldwide. Our commitment to consultative development strategies and excellent user support is as strong as ever.

Echoview European visit, summer 2010

Posted on Wednesday, 15 September 2010 | Permalink

Toby Jarvis, our Product Manager and sales representative for Europe, recently completed a 2-month support and fact-finding mission through Europe.

Covering 10 countries and 18 organisations, the purpose of Toby's visit was:

• To run an Echoview training course at AZTI Tecnalia in Pasaia, northern Spain
• To visit with Echoview users to better understand their needs and support their use of Echoview
• To ensure that we stay up to date with our understanding of the structure and needs of the the acoustics community in Europe

At Echoview we have always placed great importance on maintaining a strong understanding of the community's needs to ensure that we continue to deliver you the capabilities you need. We have learned over the years that sometimes there is simply no substitute for a face-to-face meeting as a way to learn and exchange ideas.

If you have a need to process hydroacoustic data and would like to know how Echoview can help, please drop us a line at sales@echoview.com. To register your interest in an Echoview training course, delivered in your area and tailored to your needs as required, then please contact us at training@echoview.com.

For further information on the web, some good places to start include:

• Hydroacoustic data-processing overview
• Echoview tutorials
• Echoview modules and operators
• Echoview online Help file
• Hydroacoustics User Forum

Old Echoview scripting model will no longer be supported from version 5.00

Posted on Wednesday, 15 September 2010 | Permalink

The Echoview scripting module provides the ability for you to automate tasks in Echoview (via scripts) that you would otherwise need to perform manually.

Development on the original scripting framework was frozen in Echoview version 4.10 in favour of Windows' much more powerful and flexible COM scripting technology. Since this time Echoview has still been able to respond to scripts written for the old framework, but we have continued to develop and advocate COM scripting instead.

With the upcoming release of Echoview version 5.00 we will be putting the old scripting framework to bed forever so that we can focus all our efforts on improving COM support. This means that scripts written for the old framework will no longer work, only those written for COM.

We're happy to see the old technology go in favour of a more modern and powerful model, and we hope you are too!

For further assistance with COM scripting, please refer to our "Automation via scripting" web page or contact us at support@echoview.com. Please note that we will also be releasing a COM tutorial soon, very much designed with non-programmers in mind!

AFS 2010 Annual Meeting and Oceans Conference 2010

Posted on Monday, 30 August 2010 | Permalink

The AFS Annual Meeting 2010 and the Oceans Conference 2010 are both being held during September.  The AFS 2010 Meeting is being held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from the 12th to the 16th of September and the Oceans Conference 2010 is being held in Seattle, Washington from the 20th to the 23rd of September.

Ian Higginbottom from the Echoview team will be attending both of these meetings and will be available to meet with if you would like to discuss Echoview or, more generally, your acoustic data processing needs.  Ian's contact details are below.

Email: ian@echoview.com

Phone (office): +61 3 6231 5588

We always love to hear from you in regard to your requirements and future plans.  Please continue to send your feedback, suggestions and ideas to Echoview Support.  If you have any sales related enquiries please contact our Sales Team.

WittySparks collection of online DIDSON videos

Posted on Monday, 30 August 2010 | Permalink

Wittysparks have an impressive collection of online DIDSON videos. Imaging sonar is gaining more and more exposure. Check it out here.
 

Version 5 is coming!

Posted on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 | Permalink

The planning and designing of Echoview version 5 is underway.  We are rebuilding the technological architecture of Echoview to give us a solid base for the next five years of development.  We aim to bring you the most useful and advanced acoustic visualization and analysis software in the world.

The new work includes:
 

• COM Scripting tutorial for the Echoview website
  
  
  

• User interface enhancements - color legend pane on echograms, more options for window docking, streamlined filesets window
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
• Multithreading - background reading of files, phased in performance improvements for operators
  
  
   
• Terminology review in Help file and in the Echoview user interface.  Streamline and enhance module and licensing information
  
  
  
   
• Continued development of the COM objects
   

Echoview 5 is currently planned for release in late 2010. 

We are interested to hear your opinions on features that would enhance or provide avenues to expand your work if they were added to Echoview. 

As always we will be implementing specific requests and other useful general items.  We look forward to bringing you yet another value-packed Echoview release.

We would also like to hear from you in regard to your requirements and future plans.  Suggestions for specific features and outlines of your future data processing requirements are always welcome, and can benefit the whole community.  Please continue to send your suggestions and ideas to support@echoview.com.

New features and other improvements to COM automation in Echoview 4.90

Posted on Wednesday, 18 August 2010 | Permalink

We have made a number of improvements to Echoview's COM functionality since the initial release of version 4.90, as detailed below.

Optional Parameters:

Using ExportIntegrationByRegions as an example, this method takes two parameters: string FileName and EvRegionClass, as documented in the help file. The FileName parameter must be specified, but the EvRegionClass parameter can either be used to identify regions that match a region class of interest, or you can specify 'Nothing' to export all regions, and is called an optional parameter. Specifying 'Nothing' works in VBScript but the equivalents do not work in MATLAB, Python, R and potentially some other programming languages. To deal with this difficulty we have added new methods without this optional parameter for situations when you wish to export all regions or region classes.

So in addition to ExportIntegrationByRegions, we have now added the new method ExportIntegrationByRegionsAll, which takes only FileName as a parameter. We have added similarly-designed new methods for all other commands that have optional parameters. The complete list of new methods is:

• ExportIntegrationByRegionsAll (string FileName)
• ExportIntegrationByCellsAll (string FileName)
• ExportIntegrationByRegionsByCellsAll (string FileName)
• ExportSingleTargetsByRegionsAll (string FileName)
• ExportSingleTargetsByCellsAll (string FileName)
• ExportSingleTargetsByRegionsByCellsAll (string FileName)
• ExportFrequencyDistributionByRegionsAll (string FileName)
• ExportFrequencyDistributionByCellsAll(string FileName)
• ExportFrequencyDistributionByRegionsByCellsAll (string FileName)
• ExportFishTracksByRegionsAll (string FileName)
• ExportFishTracksByCellsAll (string FileName)
   

These new methods will be added to our documentation soon.
 

New features:

We have also added the following new features to COM:

• New method ExportFrequencyDistributionBySingleRegion
• New method ExportIntegrationBySingleRegionByCells
• The method CreateCurtain now has an optional ping sampling factor parameter

Bug fixes:

The following COM features had problems, but have been fixed in Echoview since the initial release of version 4.90.44. We recommend updating to the latest version if you use COM scripting.

• Removing data files from a fileset
• Exporting 3D objects
• Creating line-relative regions
• Exporting multibeam variable data to MATLAB format
• Exporting an integration by region by cell for a single region
• Exporting data for a single region
• Detecting a surface from a line with an intensity source specified
• The MaximumHorizontalLink property in SchoolsDetection2D 

To download the latest version of Echoview 4.90 containing the above changes, click here. And as always, if you have any questions about COM scripting or any other aspect of Echoview then please don't hesitate to contact Echoview Support!

 

Travel update for July

Posted on Friday, 30 July 2010 | Permalink

Recently there have been several opportunities for members of our Echoview team to attend training courses and visit our customers overseas.

Our product manager Toby Jarvis has been visiting customers throughout Europe since mid June.  The purpose of Toby's trip is to touch base with existing customers and others who may have an interest or a need for Echoview. It has meant that Toby is able to get out and discuss what our customers need in regard to hydroacoustic data-processing, Echoview and general acoustic processing. Toby will be back in the office in mid August. 

David Millington from the development team has just returned from the USA where he attended the National Marine Fisheries ME70 workshop.  Another member of  the development team, Alison Wilcox, will be travelling to Tonsberg in Norway to attend a 6 day fisheries acoustic training course.  This course is being held by Simrad and MAREC and runs from the 29th of August until the 3rd of September.

New example script: Pick and export lines in all EV files in a folder

Posted on Friday, 25 June 2010 | Permalink

New example script: Changing variable properties in multiple variables in multiple EV files

Posted on Wednesday, 23 June 2010 | Permalink

A new example script has been added to our Automation via Scripting page.

This script, Changing variable properties in multiple variables in multiple EV files.vbs, shows you how to change settings in the Variable Properties dialog for a number of variables in a number of different EV files.

If you have any questions about the script, you are invited to join in on the thread on the fisheriesacoustics.com forum.

Happy scripting!

Have you signed up for the Hydroacoustics User Forum yet?

Posted on Tuesday, 8 June 2010 | Permalink

Did you know that as of 8th June there are now 106 members on the Hydroacoustics User Forum?

Have you signed up yet? Here are some of the benefits:

• Network with colleagues around the world in the field of hydroacoustics
• Find out about a wide range of topics, from hydroacoustic theory to specific processing techniques for your data
• Contribute your knowledge and help to de-mystify the world of hydroacoustic data for the benefit of others

To date there have been 188 posts in 135 separate topics covering a wide range of items of interest to the hydroacoustics community.

Click here to find out more.

Echoview version 4.90 is now available

Posted on Wednesday, 5 May 2010 | Permalink

The full version of Echoview 4.90 is now available - head here to download our latest and greatest release!

Echoview 4.90 contains many new improvements across a broad range of program features. We are excited to bring it to you in the knowledge that it is almost guaranteed to improve the depth and efficiency of your acoustic data post-processing, regardless of your processing methodology.

Please read the New in Echoview 4.90 page of the help file for full details on the new functionality.

Happy processing!

Plans for Echoview version 5 and beyond

Posted on Wednesday, 5 May 2010 | Permalink

Since we brought you Echoview 4.00 in September 2006, we’ve been building on implemented technological changes to bring you major new features such as COM automation; region classification; improvements to single beam, multibeam and imaging sonar; improvements to lines and line editing, performance, and calibration; support for new instruments and formats, and user interface and usability changes in many areas. We aim to provide the best new features we can for a wide range of customers, and keep Echoview on a solid technological and scientific foundation.

After four years of working on Echoview 4, we are now planning Echoview Version 5!  As with the release of Echoview 4, we intend to focus on the core technological architecture of Echoview to give us a solid base for the next five years of development. We want to keep bringing you the most useful and advanced acoustic visualization and analysis software in the world.

New features to appear in the next release are still under consideration, but some specific features that we are currently planning to focus on include:

•    Fundamental changes to take advantage of modern multi-core hardware. This will result in massive performance improvements, especially for virtual variables, over the next versions of Echoview.
•    Fundamental changes to Echoview’s architecture. Most of these changes are unlikely to be very visible but will result in great improvements in what we can create within Echoview.
•    A review of all technical terms in Echoview. The aim is to bring consistency to terminology and updates to match any recent changes in the acoustic community.
•    User interface changes. To ensure you get clear and accurate access to your data, and let you perform data analysis and manipulation easily and simply.

Echoview 5 is currently planned to be released in late 2010.

We are interested to hear your opinions on features, if added to Echoview, which would enhance your work or provide avenues to expand your work.

As always we will be implementing a range of specific requests and other useful items with general appeal. We look forward to bringing you yet another value-packed Echoview release.

We also seek feedback about your requirements and future plans. Suggestions for specific features and outlines of your future data processing priorities are always welcome, and can benefit the whole community. Please continue to send your suggestions and ideas to Echoview support.
 

A welcome to new and returning staff members: Michelle and Bernd

Posted on Thursday, 29 April 2010 | Permalink

Michelle Jones: Michelle started at Myriax on the 7th April 2010 in the role of Sales Administration Assistant. Before her current role, she was working for a telecommunication company within their inbound call centre. She is really enjoying her new role because there is so much to learn. She loves being able to interact with people from a diverse range of backgrounds and locations; from right here in Australia to the US and Europe as well. Michelle is looking forward to continuing to learn all that she can and building fantastic working relationships with not only her colleagues, but our customers too.

Bernd Wechner: Bernd re-joins the Echoview team as a Systems Specialist. Bernd first worked with Echoview in 2002 as manager of Customer Support and Documentation. He designed and delivered the first Echoview training courses in Seattle and Anchorage late in 2002. These courses have grown and evolved and been delivered to over 90 Echoview users since then. Bernd moved to the role of Echoview Quality Assurance manager in 2003 when he had a child and wanted to reduce his travel commitments and managed the Support, Quality Assurance and Documentation needs for Myriax Software group for many years. He was commissioned as Project Manager to fast track our Eonfusion project in 2006 and introduced industry standard estimation, tracking and management systems prior to the Version 1 release in 2008. He delivered regular quarterly updates to schedule since then. Bernd is welcomed back to Echoview team as Systems Specialist to bring his experience and rigor as project manager back home to Echoview.

Fisheriesacoustics.com forum update

Posted on Thursday, 15 April 2010 | Permalink

The Hydroacoustic User Forum at www.fisheriesacoustics.com is going strong, with conversations on a wide range of topics from people using acoustics all over the world!

Some of the recent topics that have been discussed:

• Fish direction in DIDSON data
• Training courses
• New feature suggestions
• Background noise
• Echoview scripting using MATLAB

Happy posting!

Echoview 4.90 beta release is now available!

Posted on Thursday, 11 March 2010 | Permalink

We are pleased to announced the beta release of Echoview version 4.90!

This version contains many new exciting features, such as:

• The ability to flip single beam and multibeam echograms
• An analysis setting called 'Whole excluded or no-data pings do not reduce the Thickness mean', plus supporting documentation
• Data files and exports now support files that are greater than 2GB
• A georeferenced sample export
• Input of characters from languages such as Japanese and Chinese
• Improvements to calibration inheritance
• A number of new features for COM automation
• Support for the Windows 7 operating system
• Bug fixes

...and many more features that make Echoview an even easier and more efficient program with which to process your acoustic data! See the 4.90 help file (included in the installation package) for more details on all new enhancements and changes in this release.

Click here to download Echoview 4.90. As always, we encourage feedback and suggestions - please send any comments to Echoview support

We hope you enjoy the preview of this new release!

 - The Echoview team