- Project description
- Scientific background
- Project partners
The planet’s oceans are essential for life and full of potential for sustainable technologies, such as for energy, food and health. Obstacles, including rocks and old munitions, have to be removed in order to lay pipelines and cables. Submersible robots that help humans in their work need even better training to optimally perform tasks such as maintenance in the presence of currents and obstacles. Research into this hard-to-reach habitat continues to be a major challenge.
The large-scale project “Ocean Technology Campus” (OTC) will turn the Hanseatic city of Rostock, Germany into a leading location for technological underwater research with a versatile testing area off the coast. At the core of the project is the “Digital Ocean Lab”--an undersea site for testing ideas and simulations under controlled conditions in a real-world environment. On land, the OTC will maintain a bridgehead where researchers from the various project partners will work together.
Significance of the undersea test site “Digital Ocean Lab”
The difficult conditions in seawater make intensive, practical tests essential for reliable solutions. However, thus far there have been hardly any possibilities to test complex underwater systems and how they interact in real scenarios. The new offshore infrastructure of the “Digital Ocean Lab” (DOL), linked to the artificial reef off the coast of Nienhagen, will make it possible to develop and test underwater technology under real ocean conditions. The plan includes various underwater testing areas designed to cover the entire spectrum of underwater applications.
Contact person coordination / Contact person press
- uwe [dot] von [dot] lukas [at] igd-r [dot] fraunhofer [dot] de (send mail)
- christof [dot] schygulla [at] igd-r [dot] fraunhofer [dot] de (send mail)
- daniela [dot] welling [at] igd [dot] fraunhofer [dot] de (send mail)
Underwater technology and its research and development constitute an interdisciplinary high-tech segment with large growth potential in fields such as computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and materials research. The OTC is intended to provide optimal conditions for underwater research, considering the conditions for research in open water are known to be harsh and involve high costs. The OTC will offer a controlled environment for various testing areas that cover different research interests. Testing areas for detecting old munitions, areas with cable looms and pipelines, reproduced offshore installations and simulated obstacles will be divided into separate zones. Fraunhofer IGD’s research will focus on optimized underwater image processing along with developing both remote-controlled and autonomous submersibles, which are used wherever humans would only have access under very challenging conditions (offshore installations) or would even have to accept personal risk (old munitions).
Underwater research and its challenges
The sea and its depths are a harsh environment that pose special challenges to humans and technology. Underwater systems of any kind need to operate with considerable autonomy, freed from WiFi and GPS. New communication and sensor solutions are in demand. Underwater conditions themselves--high water pressures, saltwater, biofouling, and powerful and unpredictable ocean currents--require specific and durable solutions as well as innovative materials. The detection of old munitions is an important field of application for underwater technology and is a major challenge given the poor visibility under water. At its Rostock site, Fraunhofer IGD is working with regional partners to develop sophisticated algorithms to improve underwater imaging quality so objects such as undetonated munitions can be detected, segmented and classified. The next step in the technology is already being taken: a smart camera in which AI-based, real-time image enhancement and object detection are implemented directly in miniaturized digital technology.
The “Ocean Technology Campus” in Rostock is a joint initiative of regional and nationwide partners from
- economy
- research
- politics & administration