Modern systems for non-contact fish weighing. A review.

Abstract

In the development of new fish farming methods and technologies, periodic weighing of experimental fish is usually a necessary part of the research work. Conventional - manual - weighing is labor intensive and leads to high stress on the fish. An alternative is non-contact weighing using video cameras and various sensors. In the presented paper, an analytical review of non-contact weighing technologies was performed based on the analysis of 43 scientific publications published in international journals. In the review of scientific publications, preference was given to methods that are most suitable for use in research laboratory aquariums and small tanks. The first part justifies the relevance of the problem and provides an analysis of existing review articles. The second part presents and compares different hardware installations for contactless weighing, such as single or multiple camera systems, sensor and sonar systems, and combinations thereof, presenting a qualitative comparison of hardware solutions with respect to range, accuracy, applicability and affordability. Finally, there is a brief conclusion.