A long awaited milestone for the Deep Vision project, the commercial prototype has been tested in the sea for the first time. The success of the first test bodes well for the final steps of the underwater vision project before the system will be launched at a CRISP cruise in March.

Deep Vision is an underwater vision system that consists of a stereo camera and lights mounted in a frame that attaches to the cod end of the trawl. The system takes photos of all fish passing through the trawl before uploading them to the Deep Vision software where the catch can be analysed without bringing the fish aboard the vessel.

SUCCESSFUL BUOYANCY TEST: Project Manager at Scantrol Deep Vision, Håvard Vågstøl, at work with the frame before the first sea trial: — We are very excited to see the drawing board design transform into a commercial product.

Developed by Scantrol Deep Vision AS in cooperation with Institute for Marine Research in Bergen, the commercial version of the system is in its final stages of production. The first sea trial was therefore an important milestone for the company.

— It has been an important day for us bringing the frame out of the workshop and into the sea for the first time. Everything is on track and we are all excited to see the drawing board design transform into a commercial product, says Senior Development Engineer and Project Manager at Scantrol Deep Vision, Håvard Vågstøl.

The frame has been designed in cooperation with Inventas and the final adjustments of the system will be made before a fully functioning version will be launched at a cruise organized by CRISP in March 2015. Deep Vision will be available for rental in 2015.

SCREENSHOT: Image from the stereo camera taken as the Deep Vision frame is pulled out of the sea.

The commercial Deep Vision prototype is most suited to research purposes where analysis can be made based on images without bringing the fish aboard. In addition to information about time and depth of the images, the current version of the Deep Vision software allows for semi-automatic length measurement and species recognition.

— Our long term plan is to have a fully automatic length measurement and species recognition combined with a sorting mechanism. We can only imagine the possibilities for the commercial fisheries when the system allows for sorting in order to better control the catch and reduce bycath, says Marketing Coordinator at Scantrol Deep Vision, Hege Hammersland-White.

Related:

• CRISP website