In-situ plankton imaging system developed by Tsinghua SIGS passes Ministry of Science and Technology field test
Between August 27-29, Tsinghua SIGS conducted a 3-day sea trail of its in-situ imaging system, PlanktonScope. The test was conducted on the Chinese Academy of Sciences research vessel Tan Suo Yi Hao in the South China Sea.
PlanktonScope, was developed as a result of the "Marine Plankton Imaging System for In-situ Monitoring Development and Optimization" project, under the National Key R&D Program for marine environment security. It uses AI technology to identify and enumerate major planktonic groups in situ, including copepods, ichthyoplankton, and dinoflagellates. The system can be very useful in marine ecosystem management and provide forecasts and early warnings for harmful species.
Organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the field test was overseen by a panel of experts comprising representatives from the Beihai Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ocean University of China, the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation No. 710 Research Institute, the National Center of Ocean Standards and Metrology, the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other units. The panel participated in the whole testing process, checked the status and function of the instrument before and after launch, and confirmed the integrity, authenticity and validity of the data collection.
Through this evaluation, the panel determined that the imaging capabilities, cruising capacity, towing speed, maximum working load, and image identification accuracy of PlanktonScope all meet or exceed the relevant standards, and determined that the system passed the field test. Planktonscope will play a key role in improving the efficiency of marine plankton ecology research, in monitoring marine ecological disasters and in early warning management.
