In Situ Sensor Testing: Enabling Rapid Commercialization

The most recent technical infrastructure added to the COVE offering is Stella Maris, a multi-sensor seabed test platform with the capacity to host 16 marine sensors and devices for ocean technology firms. Designed, built, and deployed in less than a from conception, nearly 30 organizations collaborated on the development of Stella Maris.

Users can remotely monitor, control, and configure equipment on the platform and access real-time ocean data feed.

COVE, the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship in Halifax, is an ocean tech innovation hub with extensive marine facilities (including two large finger piers) on Halifax Harbour that today is home to more than 60 companies and organizations, from ocean technology start-ups to multinationals are part of COVE, along with. In addition to over 40 national and international partnerships, COVE has a global network of 200+ comprised of companies, venture capital firms, innovation hubs, research institutes and government agencies that are directly engaged in ocean tech.

Ocean instrumentation is an especially strong sector in Nova Scotia. The Canadian Ocean Enterprise 2020 White Paper points to a clear surge in the formation rate of new Ocean Enterprise companies in the region. Some companies in this domain make sensors, while others produce the platforms and sub-components necessary to advance these technologies. And some offer solutions to consolidate and make use of ocean observation data. In short, COVE is home to multiple links of the ocean tech and data as a service supply chain.

A STELLAR CAST

Turbulent Research, for example, develops broadband recorders, processors, real time digital hydrophones and noise mitigation products, whereas Dartmouth Ocean Technologies Inc. specializes in ocean sensor platforms, including a family of towed stable depressors called the D Wings. Xeos Technologies Inc., however, provides reliable and innovative ways to track, monitor and control moorings, buoys, and autonomous vehicles in harsh environments, while Sensor Technology Ltd. is a leading designer and manufacturer of piezoelectric ceramic solutions, custom acoustic transducers, and custom hydrophones. These are just some of the names making waves in the ocean ecosystem in Atlantic Canada.

At COVE, companies support operations both at sea and in the laboratory or workshop. LeeWay Marine is a leading provider of fully crewed vessels and specializes in supporting a range of offshore activities, from hydrographic and geophysical surveys to rapid environmental response; Precise Design Engineering Solutions offers customers one-stop design and manufacturing solutions, addressing projects from the conceptual design stage through to volume production and assembly; J-Squared Technologies Inc. has been supplying the North American electronics marketplace for over 25 years with electronic products in a component or sub-assembly form, while also specializing in logistics management.

COVE has become fertile ground for the emerging fields of data analytics and Data as a Service (DaaS), as exemplified by PanGeo Subsea, a marine geophysical-geotechnical service delivery company that delivers high resolution 3D acoustic imaging solutions to mitigate risk in offshore installations by providing detailed seabed imaging and detailed soil stratigraphy. Kraken Robotics Inc. is another leader in the development of advanced sensors, including Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS), an ultra-high-resolution underwater imaging technology that promises superior coverage rates. The company market this as Robotics as a Service (RaaS).

Today, while the global community faces the immediate concerns of a pandemic, there are many long-term challenges to our ocean planet. Maritime safety and security in an opening arctic, expanded aquaculture for a protein hungry planet, understanding and adapting to climate change, and increasing development of renewable offshore energy are some core concerns for the entire ocean community as the 2020s open.

STELLA MARIS

Harnessing innovation to navigate some of the pressing challenges that this new decade poses is what binds the COVE community, and this is no better illustrated by a recently inaugurated in situ testing platform, known as Stella Maris. Exclusively designed to support the commercialization of ocean technology, as opposed to scientific research, Stellar Maris provides companies with a low-cost, easily accessible way to conduct product development tests and sea trails.

Located on the seabed 10 meters below the surface and 100 meters from COVE's wharf, the sensor platform is cabled to a shoreside operations center to ensure reliable power and data-communications, allowing users to remotely monitor, control, and configure equipment and access real-time ocean data and video.

Stella Maris offers:

• Real-time, steerable video (via two underwater cameras with pan and tilt capabilities), giving a view of the sensors and equipment on the platform.
• A 3-month launch and retrieval cycle, allowing users to manage sensors and equipment on the platform for a set timeframe.
• User data generated by sensors on the platform is stored in a secure, cloud-based system.
• Access to data sets generated by the core platform sensors, such as temperature, dissolved CO2, Phosphate, and salinity.

The Stella Maris’ system architecture has been designed to maximize rapid and flexible deployment of new sensors to significantly reduce costs of testing in an actual field environment. It provides new resources for marine businesses to support long-term test and demonstration infrastructure. Previously, sensor manufacturers would utilize costly vessels or calibration service providers to address these needs.

A GUIDING LIGHT IN TROUBLED TIMES

The COVID-19 pandemic forced most companies to focus on near-term sales and the development of new customer relationships under curtailed travel. New product introduction and cost efficiencies became more essential. The Stellar Maris allowed firms to evaluate the feasibility and viability of new instruments in advance of developing final system solutions for end users. With the functionality of an in-water calibration facility, the array can be employed for acceptance testing and/or performance comparisons in a third-party venue under controlled conditions. With remote data access and remote monitoring capabilities, the project capitalizes on the fact that design teams no longer need to be co-located. It facilitates ready access to data measurements while products, or new services from the generated data, are under development. Similarly, it provides for higher quality virtual interaction with prospective customers and/or innovation partners.

Some specific examples highlight the true utility of Stella Maris:

Dartmouth Ocean Technologies (DOT) is pioneering new instruments for biological and chemical measurements in the ocean. In collaboration with regional leaders such as Innovasea they utilized Stella Maris to advance the commercialization of their phosphate sensors. The drive to measure phosphate stems from it being a limiting nutrient, meaning that microbe growth will be limited by the accessible phosphate in a region. As such, tracking phosphate concentrations can provide predictive ability in detecting the onset of harmful algal blooms, notably in the Aquaculture industry. Elsewhere, phosphate concentrations in discharge water are regulated to prevent unwanted blooms and eutrophication in nearby rivers, lakes, and public waterways. Using Stella Maris, DOT’s phosphate sensor has been functionally de-risked, producing valid data in situ. With these results the company is delivering units for numerous end users.

XEOS Technologies develops water quality sensors for in situ measurement of the aquatic environment. XEOS is applying its expertise in optical sensor development in new products through use of Stella Maris. The Ares Turbidity Sensor is based on the optical measurement principle, using ultrabright, energy-efficient LEDs as an excitation source and detectors with narrow bandpass filters to measure infrared light reflected by suspended particulate material in water. These digital optical sensors are programmed with a calibrated response to reflected light that can be converted to quantitative measurements of turbidity.

This technology can be used to measure water clarity for environmental water quality, oceanographic research, marine operations, and aquaculture monitoring. The Ares Turbidity Sensor prototype deployed on Stella Maris enabled assessments of both sensor performance and bio-fouling risks and accelerated the commercialization of a new product.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

Stella Maris is just beginning to support rapid commercialization of new ocean technologies in Atlantic Canada. The physical infrastructure and supportive ecosystem at COVE are distinctive and dedicated to advancing ocean industry. While these resources are in Atlantic Canada, the wider ocean technology sector is welcome to both visit and engage the specialized facility and warm community in Halifax.

For more information, visit www.coveocean.com / www.covestellamaris.com.

This story was featured in ON&T January 2022. Click here to read more.