Trophy Catch

Echoflex Solutions took advantage of the enOcean protocol to create a wireless monitoring system strong enough to work in the open ocean.

Water temperature and dissolved oxygen content are some of the many factors which determine a healthy population in a farm pen. Too little oxygen is dangerous for fish. The higher the water temperature, the lower the oxygen levels. Further complicating matters, feeding fish require more oxygen. A fish farm able to monitor these fluctuations has the advantage of optimizing its operations. Open water farming, which is subjected to multiple uncontrollable conditions, presents a unique set of challenges.

The Echoflex team began joining technologies with its sister company PENKO Engineering B.V. in the Netherlands and developed a system to measure, monitor and document temperature and oxygen in seawater. The sensors developed by Echoflex gave rise to the birth of Echoponics, Echoflex’s food production brand.

Echoponics offers both a Water Temperature Sensor, to monitor water temperature, and a Dissolved Oxygen Sensor, to monitor oxygen levels. The sensors connect to small transmitters at the surface that wirelessly transmit the data back to monitoring electronics. The team at Echoflex knew they’d need a wireless solution capable of performing in challenging situations. And they also knew the enOcean protocol would be up to the task.

“We’ve always relied on enOcean, and we knew this would be no different,” says Shawn Pedersen, general manager of Echoflex. “We were confident the enOcean signal would perform flawlessly. And as we used solar power throughout the system deployment was quick.”

The Echoponics sensors are powered by tiny solar panels, and communicate wirelessly to a “black box” that collects the data. The box then uploads all collected data to the cloud via a built-in GSM modem. Once in the cloud the data can then be analyzed from anywhere in the world, thanks to a custom-built web portal. Equipped with an appropriate level password, users can see real-time oxygen and temperature measurements, track trends, and create reports based on historical data. Comparisons between some or all farms can also be viewed at a glance.

After an extended pilot period proved the system reliable, this solution was implemented in multiple locations that can be monitored and controlled using secured connection anywhere in the world. Using the enOcean protocol, Echoflex was able to expand its products across industries and provide a tailor-made solution.