This disclosure relates generally to data processing devices and, more particularly, to a device and/or systems of monitoring seafood gathering devices.
Fishing nets are non-discriminatory and provide no means by which fishers can monitor their catch and the surroundings of their trawl net in real-time. As a result, one out of four fish caught are the wrong fish, and are usually returned to the sea, dead or dying. Accumulation of this waste over thousands of years has led to a worldwide crisis of overfishing that is threatening a total collapse of our planet's wild fish stocks.
Overfishing occurs when an off-season fish is caught and fishers are forced to throw away the fish in order to limit their loss. Such waste also occurs when fishers exceed their quotas and are obligated by government regulations to throw away the excess. Beyond mere overfishing, fishers often catch nothing after hours of casting their nets. In this way, countless hours and gallons of fuel are spent to no avail. Wasting fuel also causes excess pollution and contributes to acidification of the oceans.
Current seafood gathering monitoring devices are prohibitively expensive, are difficult or even impossible to integrate into current equipment, or provide no utility to a fishermen. As such, fishers are driven away from these solutions due to their high cost and low to utility. Without a cheap, reliable means of monitoring their nets, pots, or other seafood gathering equipment, fishers have no choice but to continue blindly casting their nets and hoping not only to catch the right fish, but any fish at all.
Disclosed are a device and/or systems of monitoring seafood gathering devices.
In one aspect, a seafood catch monitoring device configured to enable monitoring of the subsea surroundings of said device comprises a cylindrical shell. The cylindrical shell comprises a sensor generating data pertaining to the subsea surroundings of the seafood catch monitoring device. The cylindrical shell also comprises a light source. The light source is one of a light-emitting device and a reflected beam of light. The sensor and the light source are rotatable around an axis extending to the ends of the cylindrical shell. The cylindrical shell also comprises one or more electrical components coupled to the sensor and the light source, and additionally communicatively coupled to a data processing device. At least a part of the cylindrical shell is transparent.
In another aspect, a seafood catch monitoring system comprises a data processing device. The seafood catch monitoring system also comprises a seafood catch monitoring device configured to enable monitoring of the subsea surroundings of the seafood catch monitoring device. The seafood catch monitoring device comprises a sensor generating data pertaining to the subsea surroundings of the seafood catch monitoring device. The seafood catch monitoring device also comprises a light source. The light source is one of a light-emitting device and a reflected beam of light. The sensor and the light source are rotatable around an axis extending to the ends of the cylindrical shell. The seafood catch monitoring device also comprises one or more electrical components coupled to the sensor and the light source. The one or more electrical components are also communicatively coupled to the data processing device. At least a part of the seafood catch monitoring device is transparent.
In yet another aspect, a seafood catch monitoring system comprises a seafood catch monitoring device. The seafood catch monitoring device comprises a sensor, a light source, and a processor coupled to the sensor and the light. The seafood catch monitoring device also comprises a memory storing instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, they cause the seafood catch monitoring device to operate the sensor and the light source to enable monitoring of the subsea surroundings of the seafood catch monitoring system. The instructions also cause the seafood catch monitoring device to generate raw media through the sensor and communicate the raw media to an encoder coupled to the processor. Furthermore, the instructions cause the seafood catch monitoring device to encode, through the encoder, the raw media. The seafood catch monitoring system also comprises a data processing device. The data processing device comprises a decoder, a display unit, and a processor. The processor is communicatively coupled to the processor of the seafood catch monitoring device through a network. The processor is configured to receive encoded media from the seafood catch monitoring device through the network. The data processing device also comprises a memory storing instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the instructions cause the data processing device to decode the encoded media through the decoder and display, through the processor, the decoded media on the display unit.
The methods and systems disclosed herein may be implemented in any means for achieving various aspects, and may be executed in a form of a non-transitory machine-readable medium embodying a set of instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform any of the operations disclosed herein. Other features will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.
The embodiments of this invention are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
Other features of the present embodiments will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.
Example embodiments, as described below, may be used to provide examples of a device and/or systems of monitoring seafood gathering devices.
Fishers require a monitoring unit that can be easily integrated into their current equipment (e.g. nets, fishing pots, onboard computers, etc.) and that can be easily manipulated to allow a fisher to monitor wide angles. Such a monitoring unit is ideally modular and can be scaled to meet the monitoring needs of any scale operation. Furthermore, the unit is ideally network-enabled and can be accessed by data processing devices through an intranet shared by the monitoring unit. In a large-scale operation, the monitoring unit is ideally accessible remotely through a wide-area network using an Internet protocol (IP).
Reference is now made to
Reference is now made to
The seafood catch monitoring device 100 may be fastened to the mounting cradle assembly 204 by one or more U-bolts 206A-N. Between the seafood catch monitoring device 100 and the mounting cradle assembly 204 may be disposed one or more spacer brackets 208A-N. The spacer brackets 208A-N may prevent slippage of the net 202 and/or may prevent agitation of the seafood catch monitoring device 100. The net 202 may be positioned between the spacer brackets 208A-N and the seafood catch monitoring device 100 or the net 202 may be positioned between the mounting cradle assembly 204 and the spacer brackets 208A-N. Alternately, the spacer brackets 208A-N may not be used and the net 202 may be positioned between the seafood catch monitoring device 100 and the mounting cradle assembly 204.
Reference is now made to
The seafood catch monitoring device 100 may relay data through an umbilical line 308 (or umbilical cable) to a data processing device 300 onboard the fishing vessel 302 to enable remote monitoring of the contents of the seafood harvesting device. The umbilical line 308 may transmit an encoded video signal (e.g. using VDSL technology) through an IP protocol to be decoded by the data processing device 300 to enable real-time monitoring of the contents of the trawl net 304 through the seafood catch monitoring device 100. Alternately, the video signal may be compressed by the data processing device 300 and stored in a memory of the data processing device 300.
In one embodiment, the data processing device 300 may be communicatively coupled to a network 310. The seafood catch monitoring device 100 may also be communicatively coupled to the network 310 either directly or through the data processing device 300. The network 310 may be a personal area network (PAN) or a wide-area network (WAN) and may enable connectivity between the devices of the fishing vessel 302 (e.g. the seafood catch monitoring device 100, the data processing device 300, etc.) and other data processing endpoints. The data processing endpoints may be off-shore or on-shore and may be associated with any number of stakeholders. For example, a fishing vessel owner may be on-shore and may desire to view the contents of the trawl net 304 of the fishing vessel 302 to determine if fish are being caught, and if so, what types of fish are being caught. The fishing vessel owner may remotely view a real-time video feed of the trawl net 304 through a network-enabled data processing device (e.g. a personal computer, a smartphone, etc.). Alternately, a government oversight agency may desire to conduct a random inspection of a fishing operation and may target fishing vessel 302. Through a network-enabled data processing device, the government oversight agency may remotely view the real-time video feed of the trawl net 304 contents to determine the species of fish being caught. Alternately, the government oversight agency may remotely view video feed archives. This may facilitate oversight/inspection and drive down costs for fishermen and oversight agencies.
Regular operation of the seafood catch monitoring device 100 may comprise the utilization of one or more mechanical components of the seafood catch monitoring device 100. The mechanical components of the seafood catch monitoring device 100 may comprise at least one sensor and/or at least one light source. The sensor may be a video camera device, a side scan sonar system, or an infrared camera. Other sensors that enable visual monitoring may be used and are within the scope of the exemplary embodiments described herein.
The configuration of the mechanical components of the seafood catch monitoring device 100 may enable active monitoring of the subsea surroundings of the trawl net 304 by rotating the sensor around an axis extending through one or more cylindrical portions of the seafood catch monitoring device 100. For example, if the sensor is a low-light video camera, rotation of the low-light video camera within the seafood catch monitoring device 100 may enable monitoring of the subsea surroundings of the trawl net 304.
Reference is now made to
Each distal end of the optically transparent partition 400 and the components partition 402 may comprise an end cap 408-9. Between each end cap 408-9 and each distal end of the optically transparent partition 400 and the components partition 402 may be an O-ring (e.g. O-ring 406A, O-ring 406C) positioned in a manner such that the seafood catch monitoring device 100 is sealed under high pressure environments (e.g. deep sea environments). Other coupling configurations, such as a screw fitting, may be used to couple each of the optically transparent partition 400 and the components partition 402 to their respective end cap (e.g. end cap 408 or end cap 409), and may be within the scope of the exemplary embodiments described herein. The end cap 409 at the distal end of the components partition 402 may be configured to provide a coupling means for the umbilical line 308.
The umbilical line 308 may extend away from the end cap 409 of the components partition 402, and, at a pre-determined length, may be coupled to an umbilical strain release 410. The umbilical strain release 410 may be coupled to the mounting cradle assembly 204. The purpose of the umbilical strain release 410 may be to relieve strain and/or tension on the umbilical line 308 due to towing, especially in deep sea environments where the strain on the umbilical line 308 can exceed several thousand pounds. As such, the umbilical strain release 410 may prevent loss of monitoring capability of the seafood catch monitoring device 100 by indirectly coupling the umbilical line 308 to the mounting cradle assembly 204. As such, the umbilical strain release 410 serves as a first point of failure by establishing a more secure connection between the umbilical line 308 and the seafood catch monitoring device 100. The umbilical strain release 410 may be hooked into a fastener 412 positioned around the middle of the mounting cradle assembly 204.
Reference is now made to
Reference is now made to
The angle of the mounting location 552B may mirror the angle of the mounting location 552A and may enable reflection of the light source 514B. Angled in this way, the mounting location 552A and the mounting location 552B may allow light reflected by the mirror 554A and the mirror 554B to converge. The angles of the mounting location 552A and the mounting location 552B may be static or dynamic. In the case of dynamic angles, the mounting location 552A may be coupled to a servo, which servo may be coupled to the mounting bracket 550. In an alternate embodiment, the mounting location 552B may be coupled to a servo, which servo may be coupled to the mounting bracket 550. In another embodiment, both the mounting location 552A and the mounting location 552B may be coupled to servos, which servos may be coupled to the mounting bracket 550. Allowing the mounting locations 552A-B to individually change their respective angles may enable beams of light reflected by the mirrors 554A-B to converge in different locations along a plane extending vertically and laterally through the mounting bracket 550. Alternately, in another embodiment, light source(s) may be coupled directly to the mounting locations 552A-B, thus requiring no mirrors to reflect the beams of light from the light source(s).
The mounting bracket 550 may comprise a mounting location 552C. The mounting location 552C may be a segment of the mounting bracket 550 extended between the mounting location 552A and the mounting location 552B. The mounting location 552C may be suitable for mounting a sensor 558. In concert, the mirror 554A, the mirror 554B and the sensor 558 may be used to monitor objects in the immediate surroundings of the mounting bracket 550. The sensor 558 may be a video camera device configured to monitor low-light surroundings. Alternately, the sensor 558 may be a side-scan sonar. Other types and numbers of sensors may be used and are within the scope of the embodiments described herein.
The mounting bracket 550 may rotate around an axis extending through the mounting bracket 550 and the sensor 558 (the axis is not shown). Where the axis meets the mounting bracket 550, the mounting bracket 550 may be coupled to the idler shaft 512 and the servo assembly 504 of
In one embodiment, the seafood catch monitoring device 100 may be positioned along the head rope of a trawl net. Though the seafood catch monitoring device 100 may be positioned anywhere within or without the trawl net, positioning the seafood catch monitoring device 100 along the head rope may allow a user of the seafood catch monitoring device 100 to monitor a flow of fish entering the trawl net through the sensor 558 of the seafood catch monitoring device 100. Rotation of the mounting bracket 550 may permit the user to follow the movement of the fish (e.g. to confirm whether the fish is entering the net) and adjust the field of view (FOV). For example, if particulate matter obscures the FOV of the seafood catch monitoring device 100, a user of the seafood catch monitoring device 100 may rotate the mounting bracket 550 to regain vision of the contents of the seafood catch monitoring device 100.
The physical configuration of the components of the optically transparent partition 400 including, but not limited to the angular dispositions of the mounting locations 552A-B; the extension of the mounting location 552C; the positioning of the light sources 514A-B in relation to the mirrors 554A-B; the positioning, number and type of the sensor 558; the locations on the mounting bracket 550 to which the idler shaft 512 and the servo assembly 504 are coupled; and any other physical aspect of the mounting bracket 550, the servo 506, the servo assembly 504, the bearing bracket 510, the idler shaft 512, the bearing block 502, and the guide shaft 500 may differ from the embodiments illustrated in
Reference is now made to
Reference is now made to
Reference is now made to
The ethernet module 701 may facilitate an ethernet connection between the seafood catch monitoring device 100 and other data processing end points. The op amp 702 may be a lighting and control circuit allowing a state of an electrical signal to the light sources 514A-B to be changed. The micro-controller 704 may be a processor or a system-on-a-chip (SoC). For example, the micro-controller 704 may be a Teensy USB development board. Other micro-controllers may be used and are within the scope of the exemplary embodiments described herein. The salinity probe decoder circuit 706 may comprise a probe coupled to the cylindrical shell that measures the salinity of water surrounding the cylindrical shell based on an electrical signal received by the probe through the cylindrical shell. The pressure transducer 708 may be configured to determine an internal and/or external pressure of the seafood catch monitoring device 100. The encoder 710 may be used to encode an IP video feed. The constant-current dimmable LED driver 712 may be a step-down transformer that feeds an electrical signal to the light sources 514A-B. The constant-current dimmable LED driver 712 may be configured to allow dimming of the light sources 514A-B. The voltage regulator 716 may clean a source of electricity being fed into the seafood catch monitoring device 100. The multi-output power supply 714 may receive a particular amount of voltage from the voltage regulator 716, which the multi-output power supply 714 may split into separate voltages to be fed into separate electrical circuits on the one or more PCBs. For example, the voltage regulator 716 may regulate a 24V line and feed the output to the multi-output power supply 714, which may split the 24V line into a 12V line (e.g. to be output to the constant-current dimmable LED driver 712, and subsequently to the light source 514A), a 7V line, and a 5V line (to be feed to the micro-controller 704). The subsea connector 720 may be a watertight connector head that plugs into the seafood catch monitoring device 100. The network hub 724 may combine multiple IP inputs into a single IP output.
It will be appreciated that the various operations, processes and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable medium and/or a machine-accessible medium compatible with a data processing device (e.g. the seafood catch monitoring device 100, the data processing device 300). Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
A number of embodiments illustrating a device and/or systems for monitoring seafood gathering devices have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention. In addition, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In addition, other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
The structures and modules in the figures may be shown as distinct and communicating with only a few specific structures and not others. The structures may be merged with each other, may perform overlapping functions, and may communicate with other structures not shown to be connected in the figures. Accordingly, the specification and/or drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/146,221, filed Apr. 10, 2015, the entire disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.