Underwater camera tracks fish

FEBRUARY 2, 2009--Gareth J. Russell of the Department of Biological Sciences at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Joseph Wilder of the Center for Advanced Information Processing at Rutgers University, and Paul Boyle of the New York Aquarium, Wildlife Conservation Society have developed an underwater multicamera system to observe, identify, count, and, over time, track fish species found near coral reefs to understand the effects of environmental changes on those populations.

The system consists of two Prosilica GC1380C color cameras fitted inside water-tight tubes equipped with housings for LED lighting. The cameras are located 3 feet away from each other and at a 90-degree angle to overlook an area of one cubic yard of water. Two side panels opposite each camera provide a uniform background for clearer image data. The cameras are connected to a PC via Cat5e cabling. Both GC1380C cameras are fitted with an 8.5-mm wide-angle lens and operate at full resolution (1360 x 1024) over the entire field. The cameras are triggered to capture images in pairs. For more information, go to: http://www.alliedvisiontec.com/us/products/applications/application-case-study/article/prosilica-gc-gige-camera-in-coral-reef-fish-study.html