An integrated web-based approach for near real-time mission monitoring

For years, unmanned vehicle systems have been an integral part of scientific field campaigns and commercial applications. To monitor and safely command a diverse fleet of autonomous vehicles, a system is required to integrate and display relevant data of all participating devices. Using web-based applications, such systems become accessible everywhere and at any time from any web-enabled terminal. Furthermore, this will establish exciting new possibilities for operators and scientists to collaborate in real-time. We would like to introduce our web-based application Navigator that aims to provide a new look on monitoring and visualization of cooperative missions of unmanned vehicles. Despite the fact that our software was initially developed to observe marine operations, the backend of our system provides a generic data structure, which can be populated by customizable adapters to interface various vehicle systems and third-party data providers. The web-based frontend of Navigator offers an interactive map display for situational awareness, integrating vehicle movements and off-site data overlays to create a comprehensive overview of the ongoing mission. In addition, a dashboard and interactive chart module complete the application interface and allow for an observation of vehicle condition, navigational information and measurement data in near real-time.