BlueOcean · Novel photonics instruments for AI-assisted characterization and monitoring of marine ecosystems

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners. CORDIS does not always give exact coordinates for projects before 2014. These points are placed at city or country level.

Project objective

The ocean plays an important role in regulating the climate on our planet. Central is microscopic size, planktonic organisms, which play a crucial role in maintaining the delicate balance of Earth’s ecosystems. Phytoplankton and zooplankton form the foundation of marine food webs, serving as primary food sources for marine species. Additionally, phytoplankton contributes significantly to global oxygen production through photosynthesis. Despite their importance, ocean and coastal waters face threats such as plastic waste, eutrophication, chemical pollution, etc., thus damaging key ecosystems.To unlock strategies for ocean preservation and restoration new solutions are needed. The inherent challenge in such a quest is the vastness and inaccessibility of the ocean making collection of central biological information difficult. To meet this challenge, BlueOcean proposes a team of 13 Doctoral Candidates to develop a new framework for monitoring and characterization of marine ecosystems integrating novel photonics instruments and artificial intelligence (AI). AI algorithms will be developed to automatically translate vast hyperspectral, 2- or 3-D spatial data into color coded images from which classification or quantification of plankton species or microplastic is derived. Hereby an objective method is offered replacing laborious manual sampling and evaluation.BlueOcean sensor technology will work alone or be installed on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to provide a full sensor platform for monitoring large marine habitats. Improved geolocation will allow the AUV to revisit the same location, thus sensing, dynamically, environmental changes over time. The sensor platform and instrumentation will be tested in several marine applications ranging from marine restoration programs to the identification of salmon lice. BlueOcean will, in the end, provide 13 experts in the newest AI-based photonics sensor technology, AUVs and marine biology/ecology.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET · Kongens LyngbyCoordinatorDenmark
• AARHUS UNIVERSITET · Aarhus CDenmark
• AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · MadridSpain
• CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE · RomaItaly
• FP Aquaculture & Ocean Health ApS · FrederiksbergCity levelDenmark
• IQUA ROBOTICS SOCIEDAD LIMITADA · GIRONASpain
• IRIS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA · Cornella de LlobregatSpain
• NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU · TrondheimNorway
• PLOA TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANTS SL · GironaSpain
• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI FEDERICO II · NapoliItaly
• UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE CATALUNYA · BARCELONASpain
• UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN · BergenNorway
• UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON · SOUTHAMPTONUnited Kingdom
• Voyis Imaging Inc. · WaterlooCity levelCanada

Links

• View on CORDIS
• DOI: 10.3030/101312043