Underwater time of flight image acquisition system (UTOFIA) (39240)

This project offers a compact and cost-effective underwater imaging system for turbid environments and will fill the current gap between short-range, high-resolution conventional video and long-range low-resolution sonar systems. The camera system utilizes high frequency laser pulses synchronized with rapid shutter operations on nano second time scales to radically reduce the interference of back scatter on visual images. Using this range-gated imaging technology, the system will extend the imaging range by factor 2 to 3 over conventional video systems. At the same time, the system will provide video-rate 3D information. UTOFIA offers a new modus operandi for the main targeted domains of application: marine life monitoring, harbour and ocean litter detection, fisheries stock assessment and aquaculture, seabed mapping, offshore industry and civil security.

The project is a collaborative effort between engineering companies producing the laser components, the camera systems, the software control and processing systems as well as the deployment platforms. The project also involves companies charged with integrating the system and its commercialization into the market place. The role of DTU Aqua is twofold; it is responsible for a series of field and laboratory trials to demonstrate the proof-of-concept and to feed back into the engineering design process, and it is responsible for the exploitation and dissemination dimension of the project, particularly with respect to marine science, fisheries and aquaculture applications.

Partners
National Institute of Aquatic Resources, DTU Aqua
SINTEF, Norway (coordinator)
Odos Imaging, UK
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Germany
Bright Solutions, Italy
Subsea Tech, France
AZTI-Tecnalia, Spain

Funding
The consortium is funded by EU, Horizon2020.

Research area: Oceanography
Research area: Observation Technology
Research area: Fish Biology