Underwater Robot for Arctic Research Emerges in Russia
The system can conduct around half a million measurements in 12 hours, compared with just 60 using conventional methods
Researchers at Moscow Polytechnic University, working with the Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, have developed a robotic system for marine research using towed survey methods.
Early Results
Following testing, the Smart Fish system is now being used in scientific expeditions in the Russian Far East and the Arctic. It has already been deployed to help solve a research problem in Chaunskaya Bay in Chukotka and to monitor Pacific waters near Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant.
In the Sea of Japan, Smart Fish has been used to study the migration of Kamchatka crab in Peter the Great Bay. The research team is also developing a machine vision system based on the platform. Trained on video feeds from an underwater camera, a neural network can identify and count crabs, fish, starfish, and mollusks during continuous seabed surveys. The technology could eventually be used in the fisheries industry.
