Whale detection technology to protect the lives of cetaceans around the world

If you've ever thought that being a whale was comfortable, you're absolutely wrong. Whales must bypbad whalers and survive different types of pollution, then be crushed by a huge cargo ship. It is difficult to get these reports because captains and crews do not usually bother to write something as trivial as their daily operations.

However, between 2007 and 2016, nearly 1,200 reports were filed. This year alone, it was discovered that at least four gray whales had been killed by ships in the Pacific. With 16 confirmed deaths in the North Atlantic region.

Whale detection technology

Because of these incidents, the ships will eventually be equipped with new sensors that will detect the presence of whales in front of them. Coastal researchers in British Columbia are testing this new technology.

Dan Zitterbart, a physicist at the Woods Gap Oceanographic Institution in Mbadachusett, says this early warning system will give ships an opportunity to slow down and avoid whales.

Several infrared cameras are installed on the whale detection machine. Their job is to detect temperature differences between large mammals and seawater. An on-board interface provides crews with more accurate information, so they do not have to rely on standard sonar and radar systems.

Implementation of new technology

The technology has been under test for some time, but an upgraded version of the machine will be installed on the Galiano Island ferry wharf off the Vancouver coast.

Seaways being very busy with cargo ships, the threat to whale species is real. Many of them are in danger of extinction if things progress in the same way. The invention of Zitterbart may well be the solution to this growing problem that will ensure the safety of whale species around the world.

Dee Mongo is a graduate of UFT. She is based in Toronto and has written for Maclean's, Motherboard, the National Post and the Huffington Post. In her spare time, she plays UC / DC on the ukulele and performs psychic readings for B-level celebrities. Dee is our tech / finance correspondent.