UK feed-saving software launches in Norway after Scotland success

The product is now being marketed by aquaculture supplier AKVA after London-based Observe Technologies, which developed the software, linked up with AKVA group Scotland.

The software, branded AKVA Observe, not only counts visible feed pellets but also completes a detailed analysis of the fish behaviour, information that identifies risk situations and helps the operator to optimise feeding.

Existing hardware

It can be integrated with existing hardware on the site, regardless of whether or not that is AKVA equipment, said AKVA group Scotland general manager Jason Cleaversmith.

All alerts from the system are uploaded to the cloud for further machine learning and are used to update the site AI to further optimise the real time assistance specific to the pens on that particular site. The optimal growth rate for each pen is learned by comparing sensor, video, feed and external data feeds over time.

Cleaversmith said the software is now being used by four salmon farming companies in Scotland. It is also in use in Chile.

Positive relationship

Observe Technologies began trialling the software in 2017. “We started talking to them in mid-autumn last year, and struck up a really positive relationship,” said Cleaversmith.

“It’s a really interesting platform technology. It’s easy to do pellet recognition, that’s not the intelligent bit. It’s the combination of looking at fish behaviour and several different parameter sets that come together to give you an indication, or alert, of whether the feeding’s going well, or whether you should look to reduce your feeding or increase if feeding activity is still high.

“There’s a management tool that goes with it that allows you see the feeding history on a company’s sites and also look back on particular pellet events and see what was happening at those junctures.

5%-plus improvements

“Because it’s AI-based it just continues to improve, so the worst it will ever be is on day one when it’s on the site. But because it’s already got the algorithms in there, it’s already pretty effective on day one and within three weeks it gets to know the site pen by pen and can give you the information that supports optimal feeding.

“There’s been some really interesting anecdotal evidence of improvements in feed utilisation, of the order of 5% plus.”

He said the software was designed to assist operators, not replace them, but could allow site operatives to spend less time monitoring feeding on screens once they gained trust and confidence in the system.

“If they’re being pulled off to do another treatment or they want to do early-morning or late-in-the-day feeding during the summer and there’s nobody on site, they’ll often ramp down the amount of feed they put out to 60 or 70%,” explained Cleaversmith.

Trust in the system

“If you’ve got trust in the system, it allows you to use the intelligent assistant to run 100% of what you’re expecting to feed at those times and for this to then be verified when staff come into work.

“It enables you to get on with other things while having a watchful eye over the feeding that’s going on in the cages. So, you can do something else, look for the alerts – or it can be an audio alert – and then respond to that as opposed to spending eight hours looking at screens, looking for pellets.

“So, it should enable staff to be more productive and hopefully more consistent in how their feeding is aligned with the company’s feeding strategy.”

Hemang Rishi, chief executive of Observe Technologies, said: “True AI-based solutions have the potential to transform the way in which many sectors operate. This partnership allows us to combine Observe Technologies’ technical expertise with AKVA group’s aquaculture ecosystem and global network. With our aligned philosophies we are confident that we will provide a complete integrated service to the market.”