Pioneering pilot project aims to open up data opportunity for aquaculture

Global consortium to bring aquaculture technologies together through development of new software

An international consortium has begun a pioneering €1.3 million (£1.11 million) pilot project in Badcall, Scotland, that will accelerate the aquaculture sector’s digital transformation and support the drive towards enhanced sustainability, productivity, and operational efficiency on fish farms.

Led by Japan’s Uhuru United, the consortium includes Amsterdam-listed Signify; Norway’s Optoscale AS; the Scotland-based Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC); salmon producer Loch Duart Ltd.; and SB Telecom Europe Ltd. Together, the group is creating an ‘open data’ software platform that will provide a single point for fish farmers to interact with and understand the data produced by the variety of technologies on their sites.

Over the last 20 years, there has been significant growth in the amount and diversity of technology used in aquaculture – ranging from fish health diagnostic tools, to remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs). However, the vast majority tend to work in isolation, limiting the value of data that can be taken and increasing the amount of time required to monitor operations.

Known as Aquaculture Insights, the pilot project will tackle this challenge by creating a single software package that combines multiple data sources, offering insights that cannot be provided by existing systems. The initiative will also enhance the visualisation and transfer of data from connected devices and systems, beginning with Signify’s underwater LED lighting system and Optoscale’s AI-enabled biomass camera.

Aquaculture Insights is receiving funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which is part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Project team of Uhuru United Ltd., said: “We are delighted to be leading the consortium on this important and ground-breaking project. We first established operations in the UK not just because it is a global centre for technological development but also because of its leading credentials in the field of sustainability. As such, this project is a perfect fit, using cutting-edge IoT technologies to best understand how we can maximise the efficiency of food production for a more sustainable future.

“We are also very proud to be working alongside companies from across Europe on a Scotland-based project funded by the EU. Scotland and Japan have built very strong links over the years. Being part of a sustainability project within Scotland is also very apposite with the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow approaching. This is a true post-Brexit project demonstrating how the UK nations can work together to play an important role as a bridge between Europe and the wider world.”

Heather Jones, CEO of SAIC, said: “Better access to insightful data could be transformative for aquaculture, helping the sector to be more efficient and sustainable, while also helping fish farmers to develop new ways of working. Aquaculture Insights could have significant potential for aquaculture, supporting its sustainable growth ambitions, which need to be underpinned by technological innovation and excellence. We were delighted to help secure Loch Duart as the farming partner for real-world trials of this innovative technology.”

Remco Lansbergen, business leader aquaculture LED lighting at Signify, added: “Collaborating under water is the future. With LED lighting we can increase growth, improve the feed conversion ratio of salmon and reduce exposure to sea lice. Making the lighting infrastructure part of an eco-system, along with sensors and data analytics, opens up new possibilities. New data points and interoperability will enable new and advanced use cases and support a self-controlling infrastructure, advancing fish growth in a sustainable way.”

Sven Kolsto, CEO of Optoscale AS, added: “Joining this project is very interesting to us – we get the chance to work alongside excellent partners and we get to showcase our unique product used in combination with other innovative solutions. We look forward to learning what value we are able to provide to the aquaculture sector, together with our partners in the consortium.”

Akihiro Kato, managing director, SB Telecom Europe Ltd., said: ‘’We are honoured to be among a select few projects in the UK and EU with classification A approval from EIT Digital. Our consortium members’ expertise complement each other and we hope that we can inspire more businesses to make a conscious effort to be innovative through multifaceted collaboration and transform their business with digitalisation.’’

To find out more about the project please visit: http://www.aquacultureinsights.com

Notes to Editors

1. About Uhuru Corporation
Based on our corporate philosophy “Create a sustainable society with technology and outside the box thinking”, Uhuru supports and promotes digital transformation (DX) and data utilization by businesses and society. We offer on-stop access to services such as consulting and system development based on our in-house products and solutions for edge devices and the cloud. To go beyond the framework of corporate activities and make DX for localities and industries happen, we are working on R&D in the domain of IoT + blockchain while advocating ways to introduce and standardize a system for trusted data distribution, an essential factor for smart cities and supply chains.

2. About Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC)
SAIC’s mission is to transform aquaculture by unlocking sustainable growth through innovation excellence. We invest in collaborative research projects in the areas of fish health and welfare, nutrition, shellfish production, capacity and sustainable industry growth. We also help grow the industry’s talent pool by supporting MSc and PhD places, internships and training programmes.

3. About Signify
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. With 2020 sales of EUR 6.5 billion, we have approximately 37,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our

4. About Optoscale AS
Optoscale is a cutting-edge Aqua Tech company from Norway. OptoScale’s Bioscope is the ultimate measurement tool for the aquaculture industry, providing a complete overview of the biomass within a fish cage. This is made possible by our use of patent pending, state of the art technology. We have done several test against harvest results, and see that on average we are within our goal of 2% error.

5. About SB Telecom Europe Ltd.
Formerly known as Japan Telecom UK Ltd and SoftBank Telecom Europe Ltd., SB Telecom Europe Ltd. was established in 1998 in London, UK, as a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) Guided by the SoftBank Group’s corporate philosophy of ‘Information Revolution, Happiness for Everyone’, we serve our customers in EMEA in digital marketing, digital transformation in the areas of AI, IoT, system integration support, network connectivity and other related services in the realm of IT to create innovative business values.

6. About Loch Duart Ltd.
Loch Duart Ltd is an independent Scottish salmon farm based in North West Scotland. It produces more than 6,000 tonnes of high-quality salmon each year, from its farms in Sutherland and the Outer Hebrides.
Loch Duart has now ‘closed the circle’ between egg and customer delivery by opening its world class BRC ‘AA’ Grade factory in Dingwall. It employs 190+ people in the Western Isles, Sutherland and Ross and Cromarty. Loch Duart salmon is supplied to leading hotels, restaurants and retailers at home and across the world.

^* Names of companies, products and services are trademarks or registered trademarks of Uhuru or the respective companies or organizations