Deployment of the Pseudorandom Encoded light for Evaluating Biomass (PEEB) sensor in an Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) system

For the last decade, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University (HBOI) has been developing Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), where multiple species are farmed together. Compared with the traditional Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS), the IMTA system can improve efficiency, reduce waste, and provide ecosystem services. For the IMTA system to be successful at a commercial farm scale, HBOI is developing an AI-centric Internet of Things framework to support the operations of the IMTA system. The Pseudorandom Encoded Light for Evaluating Biomass (PEEB) sensor is an endeavor in this effort to realize automated monitoring of the growth of the Sea Lettuce (Ulva lactuca), an important organism in the HBOI IMTA system. PEEB utilizes the measurements from a sequence of encoded light flashes to quantify the seaweed biomass. Such a configuration ensures the sensor can operate under different ambient light conditions and biomass densities. An improved PEEB sensor based on a unified electronic sensor design that is more robust against ambient conditions and capable of long-range data transmission is discussed. This electronic design will be the backbone to support future sensors for the IMTA system. Multiple PEEB sensors have been deployed at the HBOI IMTA system. The cloud-based storage and analysis of the sensor data are discussed.