Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD
The world's oceans are the backbone of global trade. They serve as transit areas for oil and gas pipelines, power and communication lines, make a central contribution to global food supply, and are storage sites for fossil fuels and mineral resources. They also play a key role in the energy transition as suppliers of wind and tidal power. Nevertheless, these complex ecosystems remain largely unexplored in many areas.
The investigation, protection, and sustainable use of maritime resources depend on advanced sensor systems. These systems must replace the eyes and ears that enable us to perceive our environment on land, operating in the medium of water and at extreme depths. Existing sensor systems based on optical or acoustic sensors still have significant limitations. Often, they can only provide a sufficiently accurate and robust picture of the underwater situation (seabed structures, subsea installations, organism colonization, resource distribution, etc.) when used in combination with various systems and specialized carrier vehicles
