Indian Fishermen Use Smartphones to Map a Vanishing Way of Life
they don’t do it and we do,” he said.Given that mobile phones only came to Gunankuppam in 2006, the rapid takeup of mapping apps seems all the more striking.Raji was among the first three villagers to own a Nokia phone, and would travel 20 km by road to pick up a signal.Access to cheap smartphones has since skyrocketed, even in the hinterlands, with a billion smartphone users predicted across India by 2026, according to a 2022 Deloitte report.And the fishermen look at past successes to motivate future mapping missions.They cite appeals lodged with the National Green Tribual, a government
MTN Lands 45,000km Subsea Cable in S. Africa to Boost Africa's Connectivity
,000-kilometer subsea cable in South Africa, part of plans to build a subsea network to connect African countries to Europe and the Middle East.Africa's big economies have a fast growing population of internet users, with growth fuelled by rapidly expanding mobile broadband networks and affordable smartphones."Data traffic across African markets is expected to grow between four and five fold over the next 5 years, so we need infrastructure and capacity to meet that level of growth and demand," MTN Group Chief Executive Ralph Mupita said in a statement.The subsea cable project, called 2Africa
Tech File: Dual-Arm AUV Emerges from German Consortium
, e.g., for camera or docking positions. In order to complement the innovative interaction technologies, the DFKI Embedded Intelligence research department in Mare-IT has developed a web application that allows the AUV to be controlled and change parameter settings via mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. In addition, the researchers investigated the possible use of artificial, oscillating magnetic fields for localizing the underwater robot.Robust Thruster Drives with Intelligent ControlWITTENSTEIN cyber motor GmbH developed and produced the highly robust thruster drives for the AUV'
Smartphone App Aims to Help Commercial Fishing Reduce Bycatch
.Developed for Clean Catch UK, a research program bringing scientists and the fishing industry together to reduce the impact of fishing on sensitive marine species, the app is currently in use in South-West England will plans for rollout in other parts of the U.K. as well.The app can be used on regular smartphones and store-and-forward technology queues data for delivery later and if network coverage is poor so that important bycatch data is not lost.David Davies, managing director of AST Marine Sciences, said, "Small Inshore fishing Vessels are not typically monitored for accidental bycatch but fisherman
Subsea Mining: The Race is On, But Effects are Unclear
BYPowering digital devicesScientists and industry leaders have known that there are valuable minerals on the seafloor for over a century, but it hasn’t been technologically or economically feasible to go after them until the past decade. Widespread growth of battery-driven technologies such as smartphones, computers, wind turbines and solar panels is changing this calculation as the world runs low on land-based deposits of copper, nickel, aluminum, manganese, zinc, lithium and cobalt.These minerals are found in potato-shaped “nodules” on the seafloor, as well as in and around hydrothermal
Poland Employs New Seismic Tech
an ultra-lightweight, autonomous measuring unit – a node equipped with integrated seismic data logging systems, GPS and efficient batteries durable enough for several weeks of data recording.Devoid of cables, the nodes can be easily hidden under a thin layer of soil and monitored with the use of smartphones. This novel approach, called ‘lightweight seismic surveying’, enables contractors to use more environmentally friendly means of transport.“Geophysical surveys are always adapted to local environmental conditions, road infrastructure and agricultural activity. It is important
India Plans Deep Dive for Seabed Minerals
to unearth treasures down below, aiming to boost its economy.The floor of the world's seas is scattered with vast beds of black potato-shaped polymetallic nodules comprising copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, iron and rare earth elements.These natural goodies are key to making modern gadgets, from smartphones and laptops to pacemakers, hybrid cars and solar panels.As expanding technology and infrastructure fuel global demand for these resources - whose supply is dwindling fast onshore - more and more countries, including manufacturing powerhouses India and China, are eyeing the ocean."We have
Hurtigruten Brings Underwater Drones to Exploration Cruising
Unit (IMU) with 3-axis gyro and 3-axis accelerometer; depth sensor; magnetometer; temperature (inside and outside) Payload: Standard fittings for payload on both top and bottom side of drone Software: Remote update of drone software Wireless transmitter: WiFi router for wireless connection to smartphones or tablets; multiple smartphones may connect for a shared live experience Wireless range: At least 30 m Cable length: 75 m Wireless drone controller for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets Blueye App for android/iOS smartphone/tablet Quick charger for charging drone, WSU and drone controller
MTR Speaks with Harlan Doliner Ahead of His OINA Panel
realities do not always coexist well. Discuss strategies you have seen that allow science and business to prosper together. Collaboration, including data sharing, between ocean researchers and industry is undergoing fundamental, structural changes as accelerating technological advancement (think smartphones and smartphone apps, e.g.) facilitate the explosive growth in data and data points via “citizen science,” pushing coastal, oceanic and marine tech research further into the realm of “Big Data”. Strategies are just beginning to evolve to leverage these changes to augment
February 2024
