The Sensor that Follows the Fish Throughout its Life Cycle: Nominated for the Innovation Award

A sensor that can be placed anywhere the fish is, follows the fish through pipes and pumps, and is pre-paired with a mobile app; this is how Canadian Marin X and the Norwegian subsidiary Sensor Globe seek to provide breeders easy access to information about the fish’s living, treatment, and transfer environments.

Sensor Globe is a wireless sensor that collects data on various external factors that affect the fish throughout its life cycle. The sensor is connected to an app and web dashboard that accesses data in real-time, furthering our understanding of how the fish is treated in the hatchery, the cage, and during transport.

Nominated for the Innovation Award 2023

For the development of the sensor, Marin X and Sensor Globe are nominated for the Innovation Award. The winner will be announced during Aqua Nor 2023.

— The nomination proves to us that the work we do is important for the industry and the future, which we are very proud of. We put fish welfare on the agenda, and it means a lot to us that the jury recognizes the importance of our work. Sensor Globe was developed to improve the breeder’s insight by supplementing existing industry solutions, not replacing them, says Sheamus MacDonald, entrepreneur and co-founder of Sensor Globe.

The product has been developed in consultation with the industry. Both researchers and breeders have been involved in the process.

New Information Accessible for the Breeder

The sensor weighs only 450 grams, is convenient to handle, and collects meaningful data on external factors, importantly, without disturbing the fish.

— Sensor Globe collects data that previously wasn’t available. It measures temperature, pH value, oxygen level, and physical stress – such as acceleration and impact – allowing breeders to identify deficiencies that may affect the fish, Sheamus elaborates, adding that:

— By collecting data over time, you know when the fish are stressed and whether any recurring errors affect the fish’s quality of life and growth rate. Breeders actually get to see how they are treating their fish during handling, crowding, transport, and treatment.

Follows the Fish Through Strain and Stress

The sensor is ballasted according to where the breeder wants to collect data. It can float freely on the surface, sink to the bottom, or be ballasted to a certain depth.

— We have ensured that the Sensor Globe can withstand floating through challenging parts of fish transport, such as through pipes, pumps, and delousing machines. To get a comprehensive picture of the external stresses on the fish, it’s crucial that the sensor can read data throughout all these processes.

Easily Controlled Via the App

Sensor Globe is pre-paired and connected to a mobile app, to simplify data collection, data utilization, and controlling the sensor.

— The app gives you complete control and a simple overview of all the information that the sensor records in real-time. You can connect several mobile devices to the sensor simultaneously, export data, run reports, transfer information within your team, and compare measurements with the data log. You can also integrate it with other software systems. Everything is easily controlled through the app while the web dashboard provides additional reporting and analytics features, Sheamus explains.

Meet Sensor Globe at Aqua Nor

Although Sensor Globe will not have a stand during this year’s Aqua Nor expo, they will be present at the exhibition area and hold presentations in collaboration with partners.

— We are looking forward to participating in this year’s Aqua Nor and meet like-minded industry colleagues. And naturally, we are very excited to follow the award ceremony. Regardless of the outcome, we are very grateful to be nominated and look forward to a few eventful days in Trondheim, concludes Sheamus.

If you wish to contact Sensor Globe to book a meeting during the exhibition, you can contact CEO Sheamus MacDonald at smacdonald@sensorglobe.no.

The winner of the Innovation Award 2023 will be announced during Aqua Nor, Thursday August 24^th at 11:30 am in Mendelsohn Conference Hall, Trondheim Spektrum.