Kopp

Tracking multibeam sonar raw data parameter changes.

IMPORTANT! KOPP IS NO LONGER DEVELOPED AS AN INDEPENDENT APP

As of 10/07/2023, Kopp is now a feature of the Iskaffe app, and is thus no longer developed as an independent app.

This Kopp repository and README page stays up so that you can still clone the code, or download/use the last executable of Kopp as an independent app (last version v1.1.0).

But if you want more recent developments of this "Multibeam parameter change tracking" functionality, head over to the Iskaffe page. In Iskaffe v0.2, the Kopp functionality is accessible from the Iskaffe "Tools" menu, submenu "batch processing".

Description

Kopp (Norwegian Bokmål for "cup") is a free and open-source app that finds and lists all changes in parameters in a list of consecutive multibeam sonar raw data files. The main purpose of this simple tool is to check for unwanted settings changes as these tend to negatively affect a backscatter mosaic produced from these files.

Kopp uses the CoFFee multibeam data processing toolbox (hence the name). It is coded in MATLAB, but is also available as a standalone application that does not require a MATLAB licence (see the Dependencies and Installing sections).

Kopp is still at an early stage of development. For now, it only works with Kongsberg EM Series files in the *.all format. Contrary to other CoFFee-based apps, Kopp does not save converted data on the hard-drive and does not keep converted data in memory after the necessary information is extracted, so there should be no limitation in the number/size of files you throw at it.

Getting Started

Dependencies

• For the source code:
  • MATLAB. The code was developed with version R2020b, but it may work on earlier/later versions.
  • The CoFFee toolbox.
• For the compiled executable: MATLAB Runtime v9.9.
  • Note: if you install the app using the binary installer, the setup wizard will automatically detect whether you have the correct version of MATLAB Runtime installed and, if not, allow you to download and install it then.

Installing

• For the source code:
  • Clone or download this repository, as well as the repository of CoFFee, onto your machine.
• For the compiled executable:
  • Preferably, download the binary installer from the releases page, execute the installer, and follow the instructions of the setup wizard. The setup wizard will check if you have the appropriate version of MATLAB Runtime installed and, if not, let you download and install it. Note that the setup wizard requires an internet connection.
  • Alternatively, you can simply download the binary executable and accompanying files from the releases page and double-click the .exe file to run the application without installing it. Note that you still need to have the appropriate version of MATLAB Runtime installed.

Executing program

• For the source code: Start MATLAB, navigate to the root directory of the Kopp code, and type Kopp in the Command Window.
  • Note: The first time you run Kopp from the source code, you will be prompted to provide the location of a folder containing the CoFFee toolbox. Kopp will check if the version of that toolbox is the one with which the app was built. If the version of CoFFee is not the one expected, you will receive a warning letting you know you might experience issues, and recommending you download (or check out) the appropriate version.
• For the compiled executable: Execute the installed program.
  • Note: The first time you run Kopp after installation, it might take a while for the app to appear. Be patient. It will be faster the next times.

Note: At start-up, Kopp creates a Kopp user folder (normally, C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Kopp). This folder contains a configuration file for the app, and is the default folder for any exports from the app. This folder or any of its contents can be deleted safely (although if you delete the configuration file, this will reset the app configuration).

Help

Kopp is a tiny tool. The following should be all the help you need:

1. Click the Choose folder button. Select a folder with raw data files.
2. Kopp will list all supported raw data files found in this folder and its sub-folders, and for each file in turn it will parse the file and extract the parameters in it.
3. The parameter changes are then sorted chronologically and printed on the accompanying console.
4. When you close the software, the contents of the console are saved as a log file to be found in the Kopp user folder (normally, C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Kopp).

If you want to receive notifications of future releases (recommended), you may create a github account, and on this repository click on 'Watch', then 'Custom', and choose 'Releases'. Verify in your GitHub settings that you are set to receive 'Watching' notifications.

For more information, contact the authors.

Authors

• Alexandre Schimel (The Geological Survey of Norway, alexandre.schimel@ngu.no)
• Margaret Dolan, Shyam Shand, Terje Thorsnes, Lilja Rún Bjarnadóttir (The Geological Survey of Norway)

Version History

See the releases page

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.txt for more information.

See Also

All apps based on CoFFee:

• Grounds: Elevation Change Analysis
• Espresso: Water-column data viewing and processing (private)
• Iskaffe: Multibeam backscatter quality control
• Kopp: Tracking Multibeam raw data parameter changes

Acknowledgments

None to date.

References

None to date.

See the 'For developers' section on the CoFFee page