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R/E-24H
Automated Crabmeat Picking Technology - Enhancing the Research Outcome through In-lab and In-field Studies
Principal Investigator:
Yang TaoStart/End Year:
2019 - 2020Institution:
University of Maryland, College ParkCo-Principal Investigator:
Dongyi Wang, University of Maryland College Park (UMCP)Topic(s):
Strategic focus area:
Sustainable fisheries and aquacultureDescription:
Blue Crabs and their meat are an iconic cultural export for the Chesapeake area, and make a huge economic contribution to local fishing industry. Compared to unprocessed crabs, processed crab meat can promote the added value of blue crabs. However, currently, commercial meat is still hand-picked, which is an arduous and dangerous process. The shortage of skilled labor further impedes the healthy development of the crab industry. Targeting to these problems, an undergoing project in the lab is to design an automated crab meat processing machine integrating advanced machine vision and automation techniques to minimize the potential injury risk of human pickers, alleviate the labor force shortage, maximize the market value of blue crabs, and promote the development of crab industry. This research aims to conduct in lab/field experiment for system evaluation function by function, outreach to stakeholders for system developments / improvements, give presentations, onsite or invited demos to enlarge the influence of this technology.Program Announcements
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Featured Fellow
Leone Yisrael is a cephalopod-loving scuba diver, cook, and loves to try new activities. She conducts genetic analysis and fieldwork at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center through the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.
Featured Research Project
Exploring the Use of Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells to Remove Sulfide While Harvesting Energy from Oyster Aquaculture Biodeposits
Oyster aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry in Maryland’s Chesapeake waters which stimulates economic activity and may provide a host of ecosystem benefits. A potential concern associated with the intensification of the oyster aquaculture is the local production and accumulation of oyster biodeposits, which can lead to a porewater sulfide accumulation and declining bioturbation, symptoms of declining ecosystem function. Sulfide is naturally removed from the seafloor by the interactions between bioturbating infauna and sulfide oxidizing bacteria.
