An introduction and initial assessment of Uncrewed Systems Standards as a catalyst for data interoperability

Uncrewed Underwater, Surface and Aerial Systems (UxS) are increasing in use and capability in the marine sectors. With much of the new emphasis on UxS sensor development and higher resolution data, data challenges have arisen to include findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability - the key to which is metadata. NOAA and Navy are developing a logical metadata model to serve as a base for unifying UxS data interoperability in the marine domain. The Logical Metadata Model has been presented to a mix of industry, government, and academic partners. It is constructed around modular components from different stages and aspects of the data lifecycle. These components include Sensor Metadata that feed into a Vehicle (platform) Metadata component that documents platform and sensor configuration, calibration, and data collection parameters. These components are assembled into the model’s Core Metadata, which is comparable to a Mission Report; to create one, complete ISO 191** series metadata record paired with the data in a repository. Following the path of the data lifecycle, Curated Metadata is created once the raw data is processed and products are created. The Data Acquisition Metadata feeds into this Curated Data Metadata along with information such as the file names, file types, keywords, and usage constraints. By linking Data Acquisition and Processed metadata to each other, as well as to the scientific data, data become more discoverable and users can quickly leverage new analytical tools and algorithms as they become operational.