World-leading research by 成人大片 (UC) | Te Whare W膩nanga o Waitaha shows immediate benefits to the New 成人大片mussel industry alone could be worth up to NZ$80m per year.
The programme involves using AI to accurately navigate autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) close to moving surfaces to take high quality images, collect samples, and reconstruct 3D images of species in fast moving water currents. The technology has the potential to go global by helping to improve access to food around the world.
Led by Professor Richard Green, from the Computer Science and Software Engineering department, the research programme focuses on using the technology to improve efficiencies in farming shellfish, ocean caged fin fish (salmon), and seaweed. It could also improve biosecurity monitoring, for instance wharf pylons could be checked for invasive species more frequently at less cost.聽
Professor Green said the work could transform the country鈥檚 future high-tech aquaculture sector. 鈥淲e are leading the world in this,鈥 he says. 鈥淭o enable the expansion of our aquaculture sector, we need this technology. The natural progression is to figure out how we can improve world food security. By enabling more automation of the farming we are already doing, we could expand farming without it being prohibitively expensive.鈥
The New 成人大片Government鈥檚 aquaculture strategy set the goal of a $3 billion dollar aquaculture industry by 2035, with a $1 billion target for the Greenshell mussel industry. To achieve this, Professor Green says Aotearoa鈥檚 aquaculture must increase innovation, sustainability and technological capability.聽
However, the sector has faced challenges collecting accurate data and samples due to the difficulty of capturing images of moving species in ocean currents. Ten years of research has gone into Professor Green鈥檚 solution to these problems, including developing and testing AUV prototypes with visual recognition systems that can operate in changing underwater environments. The work means accurate digital 3D images can be taken of underwater species to monitor growth, and if marine pests and diseases are detected, they can be instantly removed.聽
鈥淥ur system will help to drastically improve yield prediction and accuracy and save operating costs for aquaculture industries,鈥 Professor Green says. 鈥淩emoving invasive marine organisms will not only save costs but support adaptation to climate change by supporting our battle against the growing influx of invasive species driven by climate change.鈥
If adopted by the aquaculture sector, the technology could within 10 years lead to high-value manufacturing exports. It is predicted export revenue and savings from the sectors could reach more than NZ$100m per year, he says.聽
A particular challenge has been adding AI into the navigation system to capture high-quality images of mussel ropes that are constantly moving in swells and currents. The team鈥檚 solution has been to predict the 3D location of movement about a second into the future. They also propose the technology could be used with GPS to scan scallop beds, providing surveys of the seabed as an alternative to net dragging.
鈥淢echanical engineers have done wonderful work over the last century, but we have hit a level we can鈥檛 just automate with mechanical engineering, we now need AI and algorithms as well,鈥 Professor Green says. 鈥淚 have been working in computer vision for 20 years, and in the last seven years we have seen an explosion of AI capability. This work all came together at the right time because we needed high-quality AI algorithms; really fast processing to make it faster and cheaper; improved camera technology; and LED lighting. All this technology has come together to enable this work. It couldn鈥檛 have been done 10 years ago.鈥
鈥淲e鈥檝e been working with a good cross section of representatives from the aquaculture industry, which has been really helpful to understand their needs and collect a lot more data,鈥 Professor Green says. 鈥淥ur commitment to supporting M膩ori growth and interests is also long term and multi-faceted. We aim to provide collaboration, co-design, support, opportunity and adaptation at many levels to promote social welfare through high-tech career paths and increased profitability in the M膩ori economy.鈥
