New development of wireless, battery-free, underwater camera

Engineers have built a battery-free, wireless, underwater camera.

It has always been fascinating for everyone to learn about the underwater world. But studying the same has been a very critical task for researchers. According to the estimation, more than 95 percent of Earth's oceans have never been observed. The high cost and requirement of power had made it very challenging for underwater observations. But now the researchers at MIT have taken a huge step toward this by developing a wireless, battery-free underwater camera that is 10,000 times more efficient than other underwater cameras. It can also capture images in dark underwater areas.

This particular camera is powered by sound. It converts mechanical energy into electrical energy that powers its imaging and communication parts. It uses sound waves to transfer data to a receiver. It doesn't require any power source, it can run for weeks. It can also be used for monitoring overall ocean pollution by capturing images.

The camera can run continuously for many weeks even with no power supply. This would enable researchers to study more about unexplored regions and carry out discoveries.  

According to the researchers, one of the most exciting applications of this camera is that it can also be used for climate monitoring. It could help in building more accurate climate models and understanding how climate change affects the underwater world.

This camera acquires energy through transducers. These transducers are made from piezoelectric materials that are placed on the exterior. They produce an electric signal when a mechanical force is applied to them. Whenever a sound wave traveling through the water hits the transducers, they convert mechanical energy into electrical energy.

When the camera captures an image, a red LED shines and then uses image sensors to take the photo. This same is the procedure with green and blue LEDs. Even though at this stage the image looks black and white but at the post-processing stage the image can be reconstructed. 

Once the image data is captured it is encoded as bits. Then one bit is sent to a receiver at a time using the process called underwater backscatter. 

The researchers have tested this camera under various water conditions. They have also captured many images as such of African Starfish. They have successfully transmitted data that is 40 meters range away from the receiver.

This is a great innovation in terms of research in the underwater world.