Estimating Observer and Data Reputation in Mariner-volunteered Bathymetry

TitleEstimating Observer and Data Reputation in Mariner-volunteered Bathymetry
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year2021
AuthorsCalder, BR
JournalInternational Hydrographic Review
Volume2021
Pages77-96
Date PublishedJune 11
PublisherInternational Hydrographic Organisation
Place PublishedMonaco
KeywordsCrowdsourced Bathymetry, Mobile Crowd Sensing, Observer Reputation, Ranking System, Volunteered Bathymetric Information, Volunteered Geographic Information

Volunteered Bathymetric Information has the potential to assist authoritative charting but a lack of formal assessment methods has limited uptake of this idea. This paper proposes a reputation system for observers (and data) to estimate the observer’s ability to match authoritative depths; a time-sequence estimate of vertical bias is also computed. This reputation can form the basis for decisions on how many observations are required from a VBI source before charting actions could be considered. Using data from the IHO DCDB and NOAA surveys from the Puget Sound area, bias estimate and reputation assessment are demonstrated for archetypal observers.

Refereed DesignationRefereed