Sponsors: Schmidt Marine Technology Partners
Project Overview:
The 100 Island Challenge uses visual surveys as a key tool in their efforts to digitally archive and assess coral reef ecosystems around the globe. Survey sites are thoroughly imaged by divers, and the visual data is processed into digital models of the reef. The structure from motion algorithms that make these models require calibration targets of a known physical size. The SUIT records local environmental conditions and encodes them in QR codes to embed environmental data within the digital models.
General Information:
The SUIT (shown above on site at Palmyra atoll) is centered around an Arduino Nano 33 IoT microcontroller that handles all data collection and display, and supports Wi-Fi connections for data offload. Pressure, temperature, and physical orientation (roll, pitch, and heading) are recorded and then displayed as a QR code on an eInk display. At roughly 14 cm in diameter and 6 cm tall, the SUIT is easily diver deployable with an endurance of 3 days.
People:
- Principal Investigators: Jules S. Jaffe, Stuart Sandin
- Principal Engineers: Devin Ratelle