Core Technology
Key Features
CPICS can capture small organisms and particles with high clarity by using darkfield illumination that highlights fine structure. It can image targets without trapping or pumping because water flows through an open imaging space. It can produce consistent size measurements because telecentric optics maintain stable magnification across the focal region. It can reduce data overload by saving only the cropped regions of interest rather than every full frame. It can support longer deployments using anti-fouling options such as ultraviolet exposure, optical-surface treatments, or mechanical cleaning methods.
Technical Specifications
| Parameter | Measured value |
|---|---|
| Smallest target size captured clearly | Down to ~10 µm targets with fine details down to ~1 µm |
| Imaging method | Darkfield illumination with light directed so it avoids the lens unless scattered by a target |
| Imaging space | Open flow-through target space so organisms pass through naturally without collection |
| Optics | Telecentric lens for stable magnification and reduced distortion |
| Illumination geometry | Angled beams that converge in the imaging space, with a documented configuration near 42° relative to the central imaging axis |
| Illumination timing | Strobed or intermittent lighting synchronized to camera exposure to reduce motion blur |
| Deployment depth | Designed for submergence from shallow water to deep deployments up to ~6,000 m |
| Light-source standoff distance | Documented configurations place the light source about 1 cm to 6 cm from the optical system |
| Imaging rate | Documented operating modes include ~4 frames per second, with other modes supporting higher frame rates |
| Imaged water volume per frame | Documented configuration images an ~8.00 × 7.50 × 0.55 mm water volume per frame |
| Processing outputs | Region-of-interest extraction, in-focus screening, and automated classification into trained categories |
| Anti-fouling options | Ultraviolet exposure, optical-surface treatments, mechanical cleaning methods, or combinations |
Applications
- Continuous plankton and particle monitoring on moorings, buoys, and subsea observatories
- Time-series tracking of community shifts during storms, blooms, and mixing events
- Imaging fragile organisms and aggregates such as gelatinous plankton and marine snow
- Vehicle-based surveys on profilers, towed bodies, ROVs, AUVs, and gliders
- Automated counts and size distributions for ecosystem indicators and research datasets
Development Status
TRL 6
The system has been demonstrated as a submersible prototype on an underwater observatory node about 1.6 m above the seafloor, continuously imaging an approximately 8.00 × 7.50 × 0.55 mm volume of water at about 4 frames per second while extracting and saving in-focus regions of interest for automated classification.
Categories
- Impact Areas:
- Research & Innovation
- Technology Areas:
- Cameras & Imaging Systems
