SQUID-5

The SQUID-5 is a Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 cameras. Main website is here. A towed surface vehicle with an onboard Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and five downward-looking cameras with overlapping views of the seafloor. The cameras are tightly synchronized with both the GNSS and each other to collect photo sets simultaneously with their precise location at the instant of collection. Structure-from-Motion (SfM) software is then used to process the digital imagery and generate accurate bathymetric (sea bed elevation) data and co-registered orthomosaics of complex seafloor types such as coral reef and sand ripple fields located in relatively shallow water (2 – 9 meters) with good visibility. [...]