EcoSCOPE

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ecoSCOPE is an optical sensor system that is used to study the behavior and occurrence of small marine life. It can consist of many components, e.g. B. sensors, cameras, communication technology, data storage, and gripping arms. The basis are rigid endoscopes made of titanium, which contain sensitive electronics. The ecoSCOPE system has been continuously developed for years by the marine biologist Uwe Kils in cooperation with high-tech companies, sponsors and universities.

The ecoSCOPE system is used to observe, measure and evaluate the environment, especially the marine and water environment. For example copepods ( plankton ) can be observed and recorded. In an extended application, the ecoSCOPE system is used for water analysis and thus for environmental protection or for counting swirled sediment particles . The ecoSCOPE system is intended as a measuring and observation instrument that is used in special situations. Some marine life is difficult to film, photograph, or observe. The ecoSCOPE is intended to counteract the difficult conditions. In addition, it is used in such a way that it is invisible to the living beings observed.

Next stage of development: bio-indicator

The "Ocean Online Biosensors" initiative aims to combine technical sensors, biosensors and information networks.

A technical-biological sensor system was developed using ecoSCOPE. The technical-optical sensor ecoSCOPE is expanded to include a biological component, a bio-indicator . The actions of aquatic organisms with special perceptual abilities serve as biosensors. The senses of aquatic organisms (sensory physiology) are used to evaluate their actions and to be able to make certain statements.

Example of an application: water quality analysis by glass eels

Labyrinth of the ecoSCOPE with a CD-ROM as a background in the water with glass eels

The decisions of aquatic organisms with special sensory organs serve as the basis for statements, for example about water quality . The special perceptual abilities of juvenile glass eels are used in this environmental control system. According to many scientists, eels have the finest noses in the world.

The eels are released in a maze into which different water samples run. The eels practically follow their instincts to decide on certain samples. Eels can perceive substance proportions of 1/19 trillion . That is the equivalent of diluting one glass of a certain alcoholic drink to the amount of water in all Great Lakes .

The picture shows the central unit. At each corner there are three entrances through which water comes from various sources (rivers and streams in New Jersey ). It flows through a small labyrinth , mixes in the vortex chamber in the middle and leaves it through a tube in the center . The glass eels migrate through a thin tube against the current.

In the middle is the entrance for the eels. You test the different types of water and then move on, leaving the central unit through the exits in the corners. For the eels, the sensory impressions are about as colorful as the colors are visible to us. The system is mounted underwater and a digital camera monitors the exits.

The dynIMAGE software (sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation ) records the frequency of decisions. Many thousands of glass eels migrate through the system in a day. The three outlets at the bottom left provide water to the eels from polluted springs (one is a drinking water dam). The system has already caused considerable turbulence at the political level. In the future, it is planned to operate such ecoSCOPE systems continuously online, such as in the Longterm Ecological Observatory (LEO) outside New York , visible to all.

Sponsors and Cooperations

Rutgers University , Volkswagen Foundation , Menke-Elektro-Optik, Dainat-Alubau, Sony , LEITZ , in situ SERVICE and HG Dethleffsen

technology

The ecoSCOPE system is a technical system of rigid endoscopes made of titanium , integrated cameras, image sensors, movable gripper arms, fiber optic cables, oxygen and other sensors, as well as satellite communication systems and network technology ( laser , GSM , microwaves ), as well as hyperspectral scanners, spectrophotometers (hyperspectral illumination systems).

The electronics are in 40 mm titanium tubes, the glass is heavily coated, which allows work under turbulent conditions or in sand / ice. The system can be controlled via a stereo view via cyber helmet (cyberHELMET).

literature

  • Uwe Kils (1989): On the Micro-Structure of Micro-Layers - Results of an in situ Zooplankton Counter ICES CM1989 / L: 15 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
  • U. Kils (1992): The ecoSCOPE and dynIMAGE: microscale tools for in situ studies of predator-prey interactions. Arch Hydrobiol Beih 36: 83-96 online version ( Memento from July 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  • U. Kils (1994): The 3-D ecoSCOPE: "A tool for investigating microdynamics and microdistributions". Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences, fourteenth annual scientific diving symposium, October 7th Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

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