QPS

QPS, registered as Quality Positioning Services B.V., is a Netherlands-based developer of maritime software solutions. Its positioning is from ship to shore: hydrographic data collection through to piloting, with software packages that are modular and easily integrated into almost any existing workflow. The range is sold as the Q-Suite, five programs covering the chain from survey planning to navigation products, and a free trial of the complete suite is offered. Qinsy handles acquisition. It covers survey planning, data acquisition and real-time hydrographic processing for systems such as multibeam, sidescan sonar and magnetometer among many others, with multi-sensor acquisition and real-time processing intended to allow at-the-dock product delivery, and the company leans on its stability as a selling point. Qimera is the processing tool, described as easy and intuitive with guided workflows and one-click reprocessing, and as the most comprehensive tool for multibeam processing including water column and pipe detection; advanced tools such as patch and wobble tests sit alongside the simpler ones, and a wide variety of data formats is supported with integrated video playback. Fledermaus is the analysis package, providing 4D geospatial analysis with movie-making tools and integrated video, letting users create presentations with slides advancing through 3D and 4D space and bringing multibeam, backscatter, water column and other GIS data into a single view. Two products serve the shore side. Qarto performs rapid, automated ENC production from high resolution source bathymetry, batch-producing ENC products from updated bathymetry so that multibeam data can reach pilot organizations and harbor masters within a day; it is bundled with Qomposer for editing ENC features and the underlying geometry. Qastor is the piloting application, adding situational awareness with dynamic under keel clearance and real-time information updates, and distributing AIS, VTS, Meteo and ENC data via Connect Server. Alongside the software, QPS runs a training and services operation delivered by its own technical support team, on-site and on-board. It offers training at its own office locations or at a customer's vessel, office or a third party location, covering the full workflow from mobilisation and setup through acquisition, processing, analysis and product generation. Standard training curriculums run to a set schedule, with regular Qinsy, Qimera and Fledermaus courses held remotely and in Zeist in the Netherlands, while customized training and services can be tailored to a specific vessel, equipment and requirement. The company also offers workflow enhancement and data quality enhancement work, webinars, downloads, a knowledge center of guides and resources, and a help desk for issue tracking, and it states it strives to travel to a customer's location within one working day. Its named clients span hydrographic survey firms, dredging and offshore contractors, national geological surveys, port authorities, oil companies and a navy.