Egret - A LIDAR Sensor for Storm Water Monitoring

Michigan Aerospace proposes to retrofit the Egret LIDAR technology to improve operation stormwater management infrastructure. The Egret LIDAR is a novel sensor that can monitor stormwater without submersion. Using LIDAR remote sensing, the Egret can measure turbidity, surface height, water depth, flow speed, and suspended particle sizes from above the water surface. The Egret measures water properties by analyzing images of multiple laser beams as they propagate down into the water from above the surface. Use of low-cost cameras and diode lasers allows the Egret to be simple in design, low in cost, and be able to operate in remote locations from battery or solar power. Not requiring submersion removes issues of biofouling and difficult installation/maintenance typically associated with in situ sensors. Making multiple measurements from a single platform also reduces costs and number of data sources a stormwater system manager needs to monitor. The Egret sensor can provide continuous monitoring of retention ponds, reporting its measurements wirelessly to infrastructure management software. This data can be used, for example, to implement closed loop control on retention pond drains, thereby optimizing their performance and reducing the amounts of sediments/contaminants entering habitats downstream. The commercial potential of the Egret sensor is significant. Open water monitoring sensors for turbiditiy, bathymetry, and flow speed in North America in 2020 represents a market of 130,000 sensors and a market size of $235 million. Most of these sensors need replacing every five years due to wear and tear from continuous submersion. The Egret sensor has disruptive potential within this sensor market due to its novel ability to make its measurements from above the water surface without any submerged components to foul or interrupt water flow. The high turnover rate of existing sensors also means that, if embraced as a viable alternative to current sensors, the Egret can replace a significant fraction of all existing equivalent submerged sensors within a 10-year time frame. Previous efforts under a similar DOE SBIR effort have demonstrated proof of concept of the LIDAR sensing method under laboratory and outdoor conditions. The Egret is now in need of long-term field validation in relevant environments to demonstrate its ability as a novel low-cost sensing tool for various applications, such as stormwater infrastructure monitoring. The proposed Phase I effort will test the sensor's potential to provide closed-loop control data on a retention pond along EPA regulated Malletts Creek in Ann Arbor, Michigan.