Skip to main content
Ocean Networks Canada

Ocean Networks Canada

Search form

Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn iconYouTube iconFlickr iconInstagram icon

Menu

  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Jobs & Opportunities
    • Events & Workshops
    • Contact Us
    • Support Us
    • Annual Report 2019-2020
    • Organization
      • Leadership
      • Staff
      • Boards
      • Committees
    • Funders, Associate Members & Partners
      • Funders
      • Associate Members
      • Partners
  • Science
    • Science
    • Active Research
    • Highlights
    • Science Plan
      • Summary
      • Science Themes
    • Publications
      • General Interest
      • Academic
    • Getting Involved
      • Proposals
  • Innovation Centre
    • Innovation Centre
    • About the Innovation Centre
    • Success Stories
    • Contact Us
    • Smart Ocean™ Systems
      • Sensors and Instruments
      • Technology Demos
      • Ocean Observing Systems
      • Earthquake Early Warning
    • Partners & Networks
      • Industry Network
      • Global Partnerships
      • R&D Support
      • Students in Industry
    • Atlantic Partners
  • Learning
    • Learning
    • Learning Highlights
    • Learning Events
    • Partnerships
    • Contact Us
    • Ocean Sense
      • Community Observatories
        • Cambridge Bay
        • Campbell River
        • Kitamaat Village
        • Prince Rupert
      • Teacher Info
      • Student Info
      • Resources & Lessons
    • Get Involved
      • For Students
        • For Undergrads & Grads
      • For Educators
        • Educator Opportunities
      • For Communities
      • Ship2Shore
      • Citizen Science
        • Coastbuster
        • Digital Fishers
      • Youth Science Ambassador
    • Resources
      • Learning at Home
      • Educator Resources
      • Ocean Alive!
      • Oceanography 101
      • About the Observatories
      • Research Ideas
      • Student Reports
  • Observatories
    • Observatories
    • Arctic
    • Atlantic
    • Pacific
    • Mobile Platforms
    • Infrastructure
      • Data Facilities
      • Platforms
      • Devices & Sensors
      • Cables & Connectors
    • Expeditions
      • Wiring the Abyss
      • Expedition Logs
      • Maintenance Processes
    • Notices
      • Information for Mariners
      • Alerts
  • Data & Tools
    • Data & Tools
    • Highlights
    • Data Quality
    • Preview & Download
      • Preview & Visualize
      • Data Download Tools
      • State of the Ocean Plots
      • Ocean Report Card
    • Apps & Services
      • Mobile Apps
      • OPeNDAP Web Services
      • Related Sources
      • Earthquake Data Dashboard
    • Data Help
      • Usage Policy
      • Tutorials & Help Pages
      • Request Help
  • Sights & Sounds
    • Sights & Sounds
    • Terms of Use
    • Video
      • Live Video
      • Video Highlights
      • Video Archives
    • Images
      • Maps
    • Audio
      • Audio Highlights
      • Audio Archive
  • News
    • News
    • Stories
    • Newsletters
    • Calendar
    • Media Relations
      • Backgrounders
      • Downloads
      • In the News
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts

About Us

You are here

  1. Home
May 16, 2016

New Generation of Seafloor Imaging

Laser Scans of Hydrate Mounds

2016 marks the beginning of a new era of imaging the bottom of the ocean. The seafloor crawler Wally from Jacobs University Bremen, Germany, has received a brand new tool, added by the German Centre of Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). This structured laser imaging system will be able to perform laser scans of the seafloor, which will image the seafloor with a phenomenal resolution down to one millimetre.

Laser scan of a room at the Marine Technologry Centre in Sidney, BC.

Wally takes a laser scan after landing at the Marine Technology Centre, Sidney, BC.

High-resolution images will add various new components to the ongoing scientific research carried out with the data acquired on Ocean Networks Canada's observatories. For instance, the crawler Wally operates in an environment of highly dynamic gas hydrates (ice-like formation of highly compacted natural gas, mainly methane, inside tiny cages of water molecules). These hydrates form small mounds on the seafloor whose shape and size change over time, and the laser scans are able to detect very small such variations. Furthermore, a three-dimensional (3D) model of the environment will be obtained during each laser scan, which will enable Wally to autonomously navigate in the area — a technology that is crucial in space exploration by autonomous robots on distant moons or planets. This directly links to the German ROBEX initiative , robots in extreme environments, which Wally is part of.

Last photo before Wally broke free from his ether to Argus.

Ready for reinstall on the gas hydrate field at Barkley Canyon.

For Wally's bright future, another exciting part of this new laser scan system is its pan and tilt unit (PTU). This unit enables the laser and camera bodies to point at precise angles exactly where intended, which is absolutely crucial for extracting a 3D model from the data. The interesting part is that this unit is the first part of a future manipulator for Wally, when Wally will be equipped with an arm made out of several of these pan and tilt units. Other future ideas are to remove the tether and have Wally fully autonomous, and finally make Wally float and ready for lift-off.

Wally is not only operated, but, typically, also maintained in Germany and travels by ship or by plane across the Atlantic. This year, after Wally arrived back at ONC's marine headquarters, Wally was showing signs that he prefers the seafloor to land, as he required some fixes after the transport. Fortuitously, Alexander Duda from DFKI was coming out to Victoria to install the new laser scan system, and he dove right in to fixing Wally in time for final testing before Wally headed out to sea on board the E/V Nautilus on 10 May to be the first new instrument platform connected to NEPTUNE during Expedition 2016 after the highly anticipated successful Barkley Node repair.

Wally has landed with his 70 metre tether, May 2016.

Wally has landed with his 70 metre tether, May 2016.

The remaining new instrument platforms, the so-called PODs, for Barkley Canyon are scheduled to be deployed in June from the R/V Sikuliaq, which should bring Barkley Canyon right back into full operation, with Wally paving the way.

Printer-friendly versionPDF version

Calendar of Events

January 2021

  • « Prev  
  •   Next »
S M T W T F S
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Newsletter

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter:

 

Tweets Follow @Ocean_Networks

 

 

Highlights

  • Audio
  • Data
  • Learning
  • Science
  • Video

Reading Room

  • Active Research
  • Backgrounders
  • FAQs
  • Glossary
  • News Briefs
  • News Stories
  • Newsletters
  • Publications

Cool Stuff

  • Apps
  • Digital Fishers
  • iBooks & e-Pubs
  • Live Video
  • Maps
  • Images
  • State of the Ocean

Data & Tools

  • Apps
  • Data Plots
  • Data Search
  • Data Policy
  • Data Help
  • OPeNDAP Web Services

Opportunities

  • Calendar
  • Educator Opportunities
  • Global Partnerships
  • Industry Network
  • Jobs
  • Staff List
  • Technology Services

Sites & Instruments

  • Arctic Sites
  • Northeast Pacific Sites
  • Salish Sea Sites
  • Notice to Mariners

Follow Us

Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn iconYouTube iconFlickr iconInstagram icon

Sign up for our newsletter

Feedback

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

                              

About Us | Contact Us | Media Relations | Legal Notices

©   Ocean Networks Canada. All rights reserved.  2474 Arbutus Road, Victoria, BC, V8N 1V8 | 1.250.472.5400