Bathymetry is the mapping of underwater structures and is very important for monitoring bodies of water. Generally, bathymetric maps are represented on a single plane as a series of circles marking areas of equivalent depth. National Geographic
However, using 3D modelling software and 3D printing, we can create a more immersive representation. Using optical character recognition, GPS, and the depth readout from a sonic fish finder, we can create a series of 3-dimensional coordinates representing a dispersed point map of underwater structures. Using graph algorithms, that point map can be fed into a free modelling software called Blender using its scripting functionalities to join the point map into faces and 3D geometry.
That 3D model can be scaled, edited, and printed in a 3D printer to create ultra-accurate physical models of underwater structures.
- Re-wiring of fish finder power supply to quick clip into weatherproof connectors for both 120V wall outlet or a Marine boat battery
- Storage and serialization of data points
- Transformation of data points into a wireframe mesh in Blender
- Completed code to estimate the square area of a body of water from a Google Maps image
- Fine-tuning Optical Character Recognition pipeline to accurately pull depth readings off of a fish finder screen
- Designing camera mount and plate to keep a webcam consistently placed in from of the fish finder screen while in the field
- 3D print the camera mount that will be held between the fish finder base and the boat seat that it is mounted to
- Purchase a RaspberryPi 4 and an Adafruit GPS module to run data collection in the field