Automated Monitoring of Salmon Streams with a New Solid-State LiDAR

Field Data Services (FDS) proposes a technical feasibility study of newly available solid state LiDAR sensor chips for detecting migrating anadromous fish in small spawning streams. The LiDAR chip, first introduced in October 2020, uses an invisible infrared laser to measure time-of-flight distances to nearby objects with millimeter accuracy. This tiny computer chip is breakthrough technology that could enable low-cost detection of salmonids as they move over shallow riffles in small and currently unmonitored spawning streams. FDS will build an automated test system for acquiring statistically valid data that characterizes the LiDAR’s ability to detect salmonids as they move across a controlled flow tank. The experiments will be designed to define the range of streamflow, depth, weather, lighting and moving target characteristics that can be reliably detected by an array of LiDAR chips. These tests will determine the commercial feasibility of a small, portable and easily-deployed device that can be placed above shallow streams for counting migrating salmonids. The LiDAR sensor chips will be incorporated into an existing field-proven digital platform that includes an AI-enabled smart camera and long-distance wireless link. Such a device would enable small organizations and citizen scientists to fill data gaps for numerous salmonid spawning streams.