A modular multi-robot mapping platform using autonomous surface and subsurface drones, AR, and biodiversity tools to enable scalable kelp forest restoration — making ocean degradation visible and actionable.
Mapping kelp forests is expensive — current methods require costly manual surveys and specialised research vessels
Water quality and depth can affect data capture — turbidity limits camera accuracy, depth limits tethered systems
Manual collection and processing of biodiversity data is too slow and expensive for large-scale natural capital financing
Autonomous surface vessels (USVs) reduce the cost of ocean mapping by 10–100× versus manual survey methods
Subsurface ROVs complement surface vessels — together they capture data at depth and in turbid conditions
YOLO V8 AI image recognition and eDNA integration automate species identification and biodiversity scoring
Self-navigating boats equipped with underwater cameras, sonar, and GPS. Map kelp forest cover and kina barren extent at scale. Partners: Boxfish Robotics, MAKI (Jeffrey To).
BlueRobotics BlueROV2 and custom systems for deeper surveys. Captures detailed reef imagery for AI classification. Tethered for real-time control; untethered AUV on roadmap.
YOLO V8 framework being evaluated for automated kina detection and kelp classification. Training on underwater imagery collected from Hauraki Gulf survey sites.
Interactive mapping platform built on ArcGIS — inspired by marinepests.nz. Community contributions from hapu, dive groups, and citizen scientists. Near-real-time kelp health tracking.
Environmental DNA sampling from water columns to detect species presence. Combined with visual surveys for comprehensive biodiversity assessment.
AR overlays projected onto water surfaces showing kelp barren extent. Educational applications via mobile, tablets, or AR glasses. Makes the invisible crisis visible.
First field season: visual mapping of priority sites in the Hauraki Gulf with Nelson Smith. Q2 2026 target.
Develop a scalable, hectare-resolution mapping framework for tracking restoration progress — the data layer for the Sponsor a Hectare initiative.
Full survey of priority restoration zones. Ground-truthed AI classification of kelp vs barren vs recovery states.
Public-facing web interface showing kelp health and biodiversity metrics. Near-real-time, community-contributed data. Designed to support natural capital credit applications.
KinaKrete Marker Poles as HPA boundary markers — fitted with solar panels, surveillance cameras, and AR markers. $1.2M government monitoring budget earmarked.