There are many methods of catching fish. However, many of these methods can contribute to significant by-catch. It has been shown that commercial fishing with hook and line is more sustainable [1]. The challenge is to now automate this process! It is hoped that a number of vessles could act as an automous fleet. This is being done with the intention of supplying freshly caught fish to a local, land-based vending site, in a just-in-time supply methodology.
It is the task of the fish-catcher team to provide a working, prototype that can perform the operations necessary for fishing with a 'hook-and-line' tackle. (NB: To expedite the demonstration, plastic fish with magnets will be used in initial work). This proof-of-concept will be pesented at an investor event scheduled for Thursday evening.
While the exact methodology of fishing is still undecided, there are several key steps that the automated fisher must complete. These are:
- Deployment of the fishing tackle.
- Controlling the lure in the water.
- Detection of a fish on, or taking, the line.
- Presentation of the catch for identification.
- The ability to deliver the catch to a keep net or release it.
It is crucial that you demonstrate control of hardware responding to sensor data from the fishing aparatus. Your answer should consider the operation on an unmanned vessle, the cost of the hardware and ability to produce the hardware at scale.
Further to this, there are also a number of technical issues that have been quietly mentioned in meetings which it might be worth considering. These are,
- What is the best tackle or method used to catch the various target species?
- Might it be possible to have a common-core system with 'tools' depending on fishing method? What might this look like?
- Which hook technology should be used? Will it be removed and reused or single use?
Ideas welcome.
The use of Productivity East has been secured for this early prototyping work. They have a large number of facilities that will be at your disposal. However, a collection of prototyping hardware has also been provided to aid you in your work. This includes:
- single-board computers,
- microcontrollers,
- sensors,
- actuators and motors (with their associated drivers),
- a selection of suitable materials and components from which to construct the prototype.
You will also have access to the rapid-prototyping facilities of our Hosts. These can be accessed by liaising with the staff.
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An Example of Commercial line fishing for Tuna in the Maldives
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The Secret Life of Components - Tim Hutkin - Artist, turned arcade machine builder give an overview of the components and methods he uses in his work.
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Making Prototypes - Dan Gelbart - Tips from a career making scientific instruments and machines.
A large amount of boiler-plate code can be found for various IoT type projects at Random Nerd Tutorials.
There are also a number of specialists that you will cross paths with over the next few days. They are here to help you, or for you to help them - it's secretly both, shhh
What Are we going to catch it with?
https://www.kiwico.com/gb/store/dp/fishing-rod-project-kit/3826