Marine Observer Infrared Camera Vessel Deployment Presented at State of the Science
July 20, 2024 – Long Island, New York. Audrey Bard of Equinor presented a Marine Observer case study titled Marine Observer: Empire Wind case study of long waved infrared camera vessel deployment to detect large whales at the 2024 State of Science workshop. The presentation shared details and data collected on a 2023 Marine Observer deployment in the North Atlantic. State of the Science was hosted by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority on behalf of the Environmental Technical Working Group and the Fisheries Technical Working Group. The two-day event was held at Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York from July 16-19, 2024. The theme of this year’s workshop was Taking an Ecosystem Approach: Integrating Offshore Wind, Wildlife and Fisheries.
Marine Observer, an infrared maritime camera system with AI, is used to help detect marine mammals, marine wildlife and maritime objects. The system is used in support of vessel strike mitigation and marine species protection. Marine Observer was deployed on a vessel surveying the Empire Wind lease area to demonstrate the technology’s ability to detect large whales and compare the results to visual observers. Protected species observers (PSOs) were onboard to support mitigation efforts and their observation data was used for comparison to Marine Observer observations. The 66-degree camera was mounted on the deck above the bridge and recorded and processed long-wave infrared (LWIR) video in real-time during four weeks of the deployment. Whale blows were automatically detected by Marine Observer’s trained deep neural network AI software.
Key takeaways from the study:
- Marine Observer was effective at longer distances around the 1-5 km range. This range allows vessels time to react and change course to avoid whales.
- Marine Observer detected whales in weather conditions up to and including Beaufort Wind Force 6.
- Marine Observer was able to detect whales in some low-visibility and rainy conditions.
- Marine Observer performs as well or better at night as it does during the day
Watch the entire Marine Observer case study presentation to learn more about the deployment data from our Empire wind deployment. You can also read our abstract published in the State of the Science Program and Book of Abstracts, Marine Observer: Empire Wind case study of long wave infrared camera vessel deployment to detect large whales.
Interested in learning more about Marine Observer for marine mammal detection? Contact our team today!