UNITED STATES: An innovative new camera system that uses underwater sound waves to operate underwater and send data wirelessly has been created by a team of wonderful engineers and scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Over 95% of the seas on Earth, according to scientists worldwide, have never been seen. We, therefore, have a greater understanding of space and other planets than we have of the waters here on Earth.
It wasn’t an option to send a camera down to the ocean’s depths because doing so would require a hardwired link between the Earth’s surface and a research vessel or mission vessel so that its batteries could be periodically refreshed.
Therefore, the engineers had to develop a power distribution and storage system that could run independently of conventional energy sources like solar or hydroelectricity.
They ultimately produced an underwater camera that is almost 100,000 times more energy efficient than any underwater camera on the market.
The camera converts mechanical energy from sound waves travelling through water into electrical energy using specific piezoelectric materials. Essentially, they utilise the mechanical energy produced by the sounds or waves made by passing ships, submarines, or swimming fish.
Once more using sound waves, the camera delivers information to a receiver outside of the water, which reconstructs the image. In comparison to air, sound waves travel far more effectively in the water.
Even in a dark underwater environment, the camera can capture colour photos and wirelessly broadcast them across the water.
The camera can operate continuously for many weeks without a power source, allowing researchers to study and view uncharted areas beneath our oceans and seek new species, marine pollution, and the effects of climate change.
Fadel Antib, an associate professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT and a member of the Media Lab, served as the team leader.
The team is aiming to improve and expand the memory of the new camera. Additionally, they are developing a function that would allow the new camera to record video underwater.
The US Office of Naval Research contributed to the research and development of the camera, therefore military and naval use is almost certainly in the cards. There is extremely little chance that the product or something comparable will enter the market shortly.
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