The camera will allow scientists to search remote parts of the ocean to find new species, and it can also be used to track ocean pollution, monitor fish health and growth, and build more accurate climate models.
95% of the world’s oceans are still mysterious to humans and have not yet been explored, and this percentage is greater than the unexplored area of the far side of the moon or the surface of Mars.
One of the biggest obstacles to deep ocean exploration is the high cost of operating an underwater camera for a long time, due to the need to connect it to a research vessel or send a ship to recharge its batteries, which constitutes a major challenge preventing the expansion of undersea exploration to a large scale.
In new research published in Nature Communications, MIT researchers have taken a big step toward overcoming this problem by developing a wireless, battery-free underwater camera that has the power to save up to 100 percent. A thousand times more than other undersea cameras.
According to the press release published by Eurek Alert, the device captures color images even in dark underwater environments, and transmits image data wirelessly through the water.
The camera derives the energy needed to work from sound, as it converts mechanical energy from sound waves traveling through the water into electrical energy that powers its imaging and communications equipment, and following capturing and encoding image data, the camera also uses sound waves to transmit data to a receiver that reconstructs the image.
The statement also states that because it does not require a power source, the camera can run for weeks on end before it can be retrieved, allowing scientists to search remote parts of the ocean to find new species of organisms, and it can also be used to take pictures of ocean pollution or monitor ocean pollution. Fish health and growth in aquaculture farms.
