Low-cost Lidar for Detection of Tuna Schools

The purpose of this work is to build the first feasible aircraft lidar system for pelagic fish detection, identification, and abundance quantification. Feasibility in a lidar system infers a system that is low-cost, small and lightweight with rugged construction, has low power consumption, minimal maintenance, a powerful user interface, along with a design that optimizes search and identification modes of operation for the particular identified application. We are proposing the construction of a lidar that satisfies these requirements: DLIDS (Detection Limit Lidar System). The entire assembly, housed in an aluminum environmentally sealed pod will weigh approximately 60 lbs., and is designed to be approximately 24" x 36" c 18" in size with a single window as its optical interface. The system will require a single +12V rechargeable battery to operate. Its operation time between batter replacements will be 10 to 12 hours. DLIDS will be able to detect fish schools at depths greater that 100 meters in open ocean, and identify species of fish at depths greater that 70 meters. Costing data has shown that these systems may be constructed in commercial quantities for under $75K, hardware cost alone.