The AI technology will allow producing quality food in an environmentally responsible way
ABB, Microsoft and Norway Royal Salmon have created AI solution for sustainable fishing (Credit: ABB)
ABB and Microsoft have worked with Norway Royal Salmon (NRS) to develop artificial intelligence (AI) solution to help improve sustainable fishing.
NRS is a major producer of sustainable salmon, sells around 70,000 tons of salmon per annum.
The fish producer aims to improve the safety of its employees in the severe and dangerous environments of the northern parts of Norway. It also intends to decrease operational costs and prioritise the sustainability of Nordic aquaculture.
ABB and Microsoft have developed a solution via an AI for salmon analytics pilot. The solution has been designed to produce quality food in a safer and environmentally responsible manner.
The salmon analytics pilots showed that NRS can improve the efficiency and safety of its workers
According to ABB, the pilot demonstrated that NRS can improve the efficiency and safety of its workers, helping to avoid entering the open sea unnecessarily.
The new technology will also help reduce the CO2 footprint due to less operations, as well as maintain better fish welfare with cleaner seas and improved efficiencies.
NRS farming COO Arve Olav Lervag said: “Norway Royal Salmon has always focused on extensive research, development, cooperation and innovation.
“To continuously improve sustainability and increase the safety of our individuals, we worked with ABB and Microsoft to co-create innovative ways that empower us to achieve more on every level.”
The new technology has been deployed with remote visual object detection for biomass estimation and fish population counting. The new technology is supported by Microsoft’s Azure cloud and ABB Ability.
It will also help monitor the growth of the salmon and decrease the workload of NRS workers. The technology will also provide flexibility to collect significant data from the production of salmon.
Underwater cameras will acquire images of the salmon in their submerged fish pens, floating kilometres offshore at sea. A layer of AI on top of the video footage allows to measure and count salmon automatically.
ABB chief digital officer Guido Jouret said: “ABB is fully committed to helping bring about a more sustainable future, and here we’re using AI to revolutionize aquaculture and deliver on that promise.
“By monitoring fish health and performance, to minimizing environmental impact and reducing operational costs, ABB Ability is enabling NRS to reach a new level of competitiveness.”