weeHoloCam: DASA Funding Transforms Marine Biology with Revolutionary Underwater Imaging
The University of Aberdeen has developed a state-of-the-art underwater holographic camera with DASA support, enabling rapid real-time analysis of marine life in impressive detail
From Ship-Sized to Hand-Held
- DASA funding and Dstl technical advice has helped the University of Aberdeen develop the world바카라 사이트檚 most compact and lightweight underwater holographic camera 바카라 사이트� the weeHoloCam
- The holographic camera has vastly improved processing speed - what previously took months can now be done in hours
- Added AI integration enables the automatic classification of millions of marine particles in real-time
- The weeHoloCam바카라 사이트檚 evolution spans two DASA projects, the first focused on developing the camera and processor, the second project added AI classification capabilities
Plankton might be microscopic, but their importance to the planet is huge. These marine organisms produce half the world바카라 사이트檚 oxygen, form the foundation of ocean food chains, and play a crucial role in carbon absorption from the atmosphere. Marine biologists study plankton to better understand how the ocean바카라 사이트檚 food web is changing, and how climate change affects marine life. However, this process has always been a challenge 바카라 사이트� as traditional sampling methods are time-consuming and logistically difficult.
This was the reality for marine biologists until the University of Aberdeen, with DASA funding in 2019, revolutionised underwater imaging with their weeHoloCam.
바카라 사이트淭he holographic camera we used in the past was big in size and weighed more than 100 kilograms, making it very difficult to transport and deploy,바카라 사이트� explains Dr. Thangavel Thevar from the School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen. 바카라 사이트淣ow, with DASA funding, we have developed a very small version of the same that is 60 cm long and weighs just 3.5 kilograms - the frame for the camera is actually heavier than the camera itself!바카라 사이트�
Technical Innovation
The weeHoloCam바카라 사이트檚 innovative design features two cylinders - one housing a pulse laser and optics while the other containing a sensor, mini-PC and electronics. 바카라 사이트淭he camera can detect particles that are present between its windows, covering approximately 12 cm cube of water,바카라 사이트� explains Dr. Thevar. 바카라 사이트淲ithin this volume, we can capture incredibly detailed holograms of particles as small as 50 microns.바카라 사이트�
Breaking Speed Barriers
Using this advanced system, the team unlocked new capabilities in underwater imaging. 바카라 사이트淔or example, in a single 3-hour dive, you can capture up to 200,000 holograms,바카라 사이트� says Dr. Thevar. 바카라 사이트淧reviously, processing each hologram took about two minutes, which meant 200,000 holograms will take more than 9 months to process.바카라 사이트�
Using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology, the team dramatically reduced the processing time. 바카라 사이트淲e바카라 사이트檝e taken the processing time down from two minutes to just two seconds per hologram. What would have taken 100 days now takes just one day.바카라 사이트�
Adding AI Intelligence
Building on this, the University of Aberdeen embarked on a second project with DASA in 2022 to make the process even quicker by integrating an AI classification system for the particles. 바카라 사이트淎s engineers, we needed to make this useful for biologists,바카라 사이트� explains Dr. Thevar. 바카라 사이트淲hen you바카라 사이트檙e dealing with millions of individual images from hundreds of thousands of holograms, manual classification becomes incredibly time consuming.바카라 사이트�
The new AI classifier automatically labels the images in real-time. As soon as a hologram is recorded through the camera, it바카라 사이트檚 processed and classified automatically.
Real-World Applications and Impact
The weeHoloCam has been deployed more than 20 times across various marine environments, including regular work with Marine Scotland. 바카라 사이트淲e hope to support their weekly vessel deployments for plankton monitoring,바카라 사이트� explains Dr. Thevar. 바카라 사이트淲hile traditional net sampling provides valuable data, our holographic camera adds crucial information about vertical depth distribution that nets can바카라 사이트檛 capture. This complementary approach gives us unprecedented insight into marine health.바카라 사이트�
The system has even attracted media attention, featuring on BBC바카라 사이트檚 One Show during a deployment in Loch Ness. 바카라 사이트淲hile we did not find Nessie we were afforded a rare opportunity to study plankton in a freshwater situation which was a first for us,바카라 사이트� says Dr. Thevar.
From a defence and security standpoint, the WeeHoloCam project addresses a critical challenge in marine operations: monitoring microscopic sea life in real-time. This capability is essential for predicting harmful algal blooms and tracking changes in marine biomass that can affect underwater optical systems.
The innovation delivers two key advantages:
- Its compact size enables deployment on the growing fleet of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, dramatically increasing measurement coverage
- Its advanced AI algorithms automatically classify micro-organisms, significantly reducing the manual analysis time needed to produce biological tactical assessments
End of DASA project trial
In October 2024, at the end of their DASA project, the University of Aberdeen demonstrated their subsea holographic camera to technical Dstl partners. The lab-based trials proved highly successful. The team showcased the system바카라 사이트檚 real-time classification capabilities, using both previously collected sea-trial data and live samples containing tiny jellyfish. The demonstration highlighted the intuitive user interface, which allows operators to easily select and group different marine organisms for analysis, from bubbles to dinoflagellates (a planktonic single-celled organism) and copepods (a group of very small crustaceans).
Future Horizons
The team is now running at full capacity with several exciting developments:
- Tackling sea lice detection in salmon farms, despite the challenging nature of identifying these sparse, elusive parasites
- A new funded project to permanently deploy a system for harmful micro-jellyfish detection
- Exploring mounting the technology on autonomous underwater vehicles
- Supporting carbon transport research by tracking organic matter movement in oceans
The DASA Difference
The University of Aberdeen credits DASA바카라 사이트檚 support for the project바카라 사이트檚 success. 바카라 사이트淲orking with DASA has been a very positive experience,바카라 사이트� notes Dr. Thevar. 바카라 사이트淚t바카라 사이트檚 always a two-way conversation where we help each other. They바카라 사이트檝e pushed us forward, whether through commercialisation ideas or project development, and have been instrumental in providing further leads to follow.바카라 사이트�
바카라 사이트淔rom studying plankton populations to tracking carbon transport in our oceans, this technology is helping us understand our marine environments in ways we never could before,바카라 사이트� concludes Dr. Thevar. 바카라 사이트淎nd with each new application we discover, the value of DASA바카라 사이트檚 early investment becomes even more apparent.바카라 사이트�