The spin-off of the University of Alicante, Lucentia Lab, part of the 1MillionBot group, is developing, together with the Derwent Group, a business group specialising in aquaculture, an innovative system that will allow the number of fish in marine farms to be counted accurately. This will help calculate the exact amount of feed that should be supplied.
Sea bream farm. Photo: Ángel Fitor"This is the first device of its kind in the world, and it will revolutionize the industry," says Santiago Colomo, head of business development at Lucentia Lab. This technological advancement, developed through the artificial intelligence and machine learning expertise offered by 1MillionBot through its subsidiary, will translate into significant savings for companies, which currently lose around €800.000 annually due to miscalculations in feeding, and will contribute to environmental improvement by reducing waste generated by excess food on the seabed.
The system, called Bioscanner, will employ an underwater drone to take underwater images of the fish cages, which will be processed using artificial intelligence technologies to obtain accurate estimates of fish numbers.
The first phase of testing has already yielded positive results, and it is expected that this system will become a reality in about a year. In addition, the implementation of this new system will improve the conditions under which fish are raised, which could lead to the creation of an animal welfare certification, similar to those existing for other species.