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This ROV can fully operate on its own, and follow along with fish's behavior and health with its Argus eyes—all while keeping a safe distance. It even inspects the technical standard of the enclosure while it's at it.

Fish farming is an important source of food, all across the world. But the industry is known for challenges related to safety, both in the form of frequent field accidents, and fish that escape the enclosure. Farmed fish on the loose and the resulting spread of unwanted gene material to vulnerable wild salmon flocks is a known problem. In addition, the aquaculture industry today has little access to customized systems that can operate autonomously, survey the enclosure and simultaneously collect important data from everything that happens inside.

From a purely technological perspective, the solutions exist. Automated underwater vehicles can tackle high-risk jobs such as the inspection of nets, which can lead to fewer accidents. What's more, they can survey the fish's health and prevent escapes. In fact, this type of equipment can even make the facilities more profitable since it can be "on guard" 24/7, regardless of terrible weather and without needing human assistance. This equipment can complete complex tasks such as examining the cage for possible damage in real time and thus preventing escape, and as a result, contributing to better animal welfare.

 

Tested in aquaculture facilities

A group of researchers from SINTEF and NTNU have now gone together with both the aquaculture and technology industries to develop a self-driving, also known as autonomous, underwater robot (ROV), officially called CageReporter. It's tailor made for jobs like these, and it does it all on its own.

Project results:

 

CageReporter is outfitted with some seriously robust technology. Its communications system is based on acoustic signals, yet is still small enough not to affect the ROV's driving capabilities in the water.

"Vehicles like this can collect useful data, making it more precise and more objective than the data we can collect as humans. Thus, the technology gives us incredibly precise and important information on, for example, the fish's health and the quality of the water in real time. That's great news for fish health and animal welfare," says researcher and project leader Eleni Kelasidi from SINTEF. "In the future, we might even be looking at completely un-manned aquaculture facilities."

So far the ROV has been field tested at two aquaculture facilities connected to SINTEF ACE, just outside of Frøya on the coast of Trondheim. The facilities are operated by SalMar, but also function as a field laboratory for SINTEF researchers. It's here that the robot has delivered both laser-sharp photos of the cage in real time, as well as precise positioning data which allows it to navigate in surroundings that are constantly changing. With this technology, CageReporter can discover and report any deformations in the net, and even anticipate future damage.

"The data we've received from the farming enclosure, both in regards to the fish, the equipment and the environment, have given us a much better insight into what the conditions in the enclosure actually are," she says. "Compared to traditional point measurements, we've received without a doubt more information, and more importantly, more precise information." (continued...)

 

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